the nightmare
by ziggy sparks
Summary: Lola dreamt of Tom Riddle. She knew of his madness as Lord Voldemort, his sickness and death. What she did not know was that she was his grandaughter and that his followers were coming to get her. Takes place in her 1styr at Hogwarts 19yrs after the book
1. Chapter 1: Dreams so Real

The Nightmare: _only you could have my whole soul._

Tom had loved her. Besides himself she had been the only person to matter. And there she lay in his arms, broken and bloody, a faint heartbeat receding. Tom had loved Jane and only now that he had lost her did her value to him become clear. There was silence within him. He could no longer hear the screaming voices, burning fires or explosions anymore. He could no longer hear the normal world about him sinking into complete chaos. He was swaying into an unforeseen fogginess. Images of Jane overtook his gray, soaking eyes: Jane in her black gown, Jane smiling in the golden field, Jane's beautiful face in the moonlight that glorious night. He could have convinced her to stay with him that night and none of this would have happened. She would have changed him, she would have saved him and in turn, he would have saved her. A fainter heartbeat, the enemy was on his footsteps.

He took a breath and looked down at his lifeless and only love. Her eyes were closed but she held herself tightly against the cold embrace of death. Pink lips barely parted…she was no longer breathing. He placed her softly on the ground amongst the wreckage of the blast and ran from that place. He ran so fast and so far he could no longer make out his surroundings. There, Tom Riddle apparated into nothing.

Alone again, he sat crooked on a velvet plush chair still covered in soot and blood. He was in his study but it was almost empty. They had done his bidding but Tom could not pull himself out of the chair. His heart was still racing and his mind could only repeat her last few moments over and over again.

Tom had run in after her. Clad in her white uniform Jane turned to him with tears in her vibrant blue eyes.

"Can't you see what you have become, Tom? A monster, an absolute evil! I have too much to live for, please, leave, and never come back,"

"You judge me based on what others have told you, Jane! This is unfair,"

"Life is unfair, Tom! Do you think these soldiers wished to die? Do you think these countries salivated at the chance to war with each other? No, Tom, life is unfair!"

"Stop calling me that,"

"You are not and will never be my lord, Tom,"

"Your insolence will get you nowhere, Jane!" he had bellowed as he grabbed her thin wrist and turned her to face him.

"And your madness will?"

Tom had been silent then. Even livid she was beautiful.

"Tom," her tone was softer, "nothing you offer will take me from here. I will never go back to that unnatural world. I belong here…I'm sorry."

"..What if I could stop this war?"

Jane had turned to him then with wide eyes filled with fear, "You are too bold,"

"I can, Jane, I can! I am the most powerful being in this universe! Nothing can stop me,"

"Love can," she had said as the sirens began to shriek louder in the distance, "…and love will destroy you."

Then there was light and silence. Tom gripped the velvet chair, his nails dug into it. Love had already destroyed him; the constant lack of it and now the sudden affair. It did not matter, he knew, none of it mattered. She was dead and he was truly alone. Selfish, he thought as he tried to raise himself off the chair, inconceivably selfish, how could she be so cruel? He had offered her power, peace and an eternity of happiness. How could anyone deny that? His strength failed him and he fell to the floor sobbing uncontrollably. Love was nothing but a consequence and a plague. Love had turned him into those he pitied most, the fools, and he would not have it! Jane had chosen her own fate now…he had to choose his. Tom stood up from his misery and apparated into an open field where his minions awaited him.

"Avada Kadabra!" he screamed and a soldier fell dead. The others awaited deathly quiet, "no mercy!" Tom screamed and the hordes of followers bellowed unintelligibly. Grunts of war filled the air and there was no peace, no power and no happiness.

* * *

"Ahh!" Lola awoke screaming into the bright morning. She fought to catch her breath. She opened her eyes to the familiar and soothing sight of her sandy room brightened by her opened, breezy window. It had been a dream. She breathed deeply and buried her face in her hands; she had been crying. She slowed her breathing and listened to the sounds of the house…it was quiet. He must have gone to work already. Yawning loudly Lola Harlow twisted out of her plush bed. It felt like a crime leaving such a comfy bed but the Californian morning was calling her. She brushed the dream from her mind as she stretched, donned some slippers and tended her teeth and face. What a strange dream it was. For three nights she had dreamt of this Tom fellow and his strange powers. First, a child in an orphanage using magic to terrify the other children, then a teenager in an old building roaming through castle-like hallways yearning for darkness, now, as a grown man, suffering over the loss of a lady named Jane.

She laughed out loud; she really needed to stop watching such scary movies. She was often prone to strange dreams of monsters and magic, and most of them always left her screaming and breathless. But this Tom fellow was different. He reminded her of someone but she could never place it and that was what truly scared her. As she reached the main floor of the beach house a familiar and comforting humming filled her ears as well as the smell of breakfast.

"Daddy," Lola said as her father turned to her with a slight smile on his face, "shouldn't you be at work?"

"I should, shouldn't I? Unfortunately that lateness gene runs in both of us, sit down and eat,"

He was a tall man of six feet with slim, kind eyes buried under prominent sand-colored eyebrows. A Greco-roman nose gave him a majestic appearance that not even Lola could find the courage to disobey him. He was a government official which was strange because his crisp British accent always seemed out of place in the American governmental buildings. A skinny mouth gave him his rugged, manly appearance but his sweet smile always presented him as the most wonderful and kindly of people. Gray eyes peered at each other.

"Lola?"

"Yeah, daddy,"

"You are up early,"

Lola sipped on her coffee, "clearly, daddy, I usually get up at this time, you know."

"I haven't seen you in the morning in over a year!"

"Daddy, you are late,"

"Oh right-o, well then," he kissed her on the forehead and started to put on his suit.

"You know, daddy, I had a weird dream,"

"What happened, darling?"

"I was this man-"

"Heavens not that Harry Potter dream again?"

"no, this time I was this man named Tom Riddle,"

"oh, and what did tom Riddle do? Was he a magician too?"

"Wizard, daddy, they are wizards."

"They aren't real, come help me with this tie, will you?"

Lola sighed and went to her father, "anyway, it was different this time, they were in our world and it was World War two. He was arguing with this Jane woman and a bomb went off killing her."

"Lola, you are almost eleven years old now, you know, don't you think you have had enough of these strange dreams?" she stood on a chair just to reach his height.

"I don't ask for them to happen…ever since I started taking that new medicine-"

"Well you will just have to tell Dr. Stanford next time you see her, darling. If that medicine is causing you to hallucinate like this-"

"They are just dreams, daddy, besides I have been getting so much better,"

He smiled, "I highly doubt that's proper English."

"eh, what would you know about proper English you lousy Brit?"

He laughed and brought her back down to the floor, "more than you, silly American. Now are your bags packed? You have an hour till Lydia comes to fetch you."

"Dad, I thought-"

"no, Lola, you are not using this dream as an excuse to get out of spending the weekend with your mother."

Lola sat back down on the breakfast table, defeated. Her father sighed and sat next to her, cradling her hand.

"Lola, it has been almost two years since you last saw her, "

"I don't like her, that's why, and she doesn't like me either,"

"She is your mother, Lola, she loves you, give her a chance,"

Lola looked into her father's grey eyes with her own matching pair, other than their eyes she was the exact same copy of her distant mother.

"He looked a lot like you, daddy,"

"who?"

"Tom Riddle,"

Her father was silent but he smiled and patted her head, "Please promise me you won't dwell on these silly dreams while you are away, my darling?"

"…they aren't silly; I know they mean something,"

"They mean you need to stop watching so many scary movies," Sebastian Harlow, her father, gave her a grand hug and kissed her on the forehead, "goodbye, Lolita, have a safe trip."

"Bye, daddy," as she watched her father leave into the beautiful and sunny Californian morning she sipped on her coffee. A strange sight for an eleven year old but besides coffee, her medicine and her father, much of everything else brought her to strange seizures were even the most sanest of people would be convinced she was possessed by a demon or something. They had moved all around the country until they found a doctor willing to give her the strange medicine that calmed her nerves. Illegal in most states, the elixir kept her body and mind in homeostasis which it could not do by itself. At least, that was what the doctors had told her. Ever since Lola had been small strange things had happened around her. Vases moved without apparent force, animals followed her without command or reason and even strangers often watched her and her father with widened stares. There was something peculiar about them that she never understood but it had driven her mother away seven years ago.

She pushed the negative thoughts aside and donned her wet suit. If she had only an hour left she would spent it in the ocean. The waves crashed lavishly on the tan beach that was illuminated by the vibrant sun. It was mornings like this that she lived for. The beach was empty and beautiful. She grabbed her surf board from the deck and paddled out into the warm water. A seasoned surfer Lola owned the waves around her. She turned back to the shore and her house looked like an ant to her. She was alone and free. The water was receding around her and she smiled, a big wave was coming. She turned back to the ocean and paddled towards it. Adrenaline filled her as she got closer and closer. Grey eyes lively, she took the wave. Riding it softly the speed and elevation was intoxicating. It was waves like this that came once in a while that made surfing so much fun! As she traveled through the vortex a shadow appeared before her eyes.

Clad in a black cloak a creature stood before her. Dry as stone, alabaster skin carried a snake monster. Slits for nostrils the creature's mouth twisted into something like a smile and it offered its arm to her. A voice resonated through her consciousness, "come," it commanded. She fell off her board into the wave. Twisting and turning, she fought her eyes open into the swirling water. She could see nothing but blue all around her. Her lungs were burning for air. She broke through the surface and breathed deeply. Turning her head from side to side she searched for the creature which she had seen for three nights now. She knew who it was. She knew it was the twisted end result of Tom Riddle. What was happening to her?

As she reached the shore she sat on the beach for some time, gathering her thoughts. Her board accompanied her in two pieces. Her dad was going to kill her for wrecking another board. She focused, was she hallucinating again? If so, her dad would never let her go to her mother's house. A sick joy filled her but she pushed it away. No, it was so real. She looked out at the ocean, searching the horizon with her grey eyes for a sign. A hand gripped her shoulder.

She screamed and turned to see her mother's maid, Lydia, glaring down at her.

"What is wrong with you, girl?"

Lola sighed and picked herself off the sandy beach, "you scared me,"

Lydia mumbled to herself and headed for the house without a second glance at Lola.

"Nice to see you too, you old bat," Lola grumbled as she picked up her board, it was curiously split neatly in two. She considered her choices: she could call her father, tell him about the hallucination and therefore save herself the awkward weekend, or she could avoid the drama and the trip to Dr. Stanford or as Lola often referred to her Dr. pill-happy and allow herself these strange nightmares for once. In her mother's home she could freely explore these deep, unconscious visions without her father's intervention. Lola had never cared for the dreams before; they always took her into a magical world where a gauche orphan boy fought against an evil wizard. But, these three nights had been different. These three nights she had dreamt of Tom Riddle, the enemy, the evil sorcerer not the boy wizard. These three nights she had been medicated but somehow the dreams had come through. These three nights were filled with tears and unexplainable restlessness. These were different. Something was happening to her and she wanted to figure it out on her own.

As she got to the house Lydia stood by the Rolls Royce with a dress in her wrinkly arms.

"Go inside and change into this, your bags have been packed,"

Lola silently followed the command and headed to her room. She hated dresses, she was still a small and skinny girl, and dresses always looked out of place and awkward on her. And this dress was a frilly nightmare. She swallowed her pride and slipped it on. She also donned her seashell bracelet her father had given to her when she turned ten. It was her favorite possession. One bag remained in her room; her personal bag. At least Lydia knew when personal space was allowed. She packed it with her journals and trinkets she adored.

Lola turned to the counter where her medicines sat harmlessly. She stared at them for a moment and then took her vitamins and put them in her medicine bottle. It was not dangerous, but it was a bit reckless. She took her vitamin bottle and filled it with her medicines. She would take both but only take the real medicine when necessary. That way, if her father came snooping around her room he wouldn't see the empty vitamin pack and come get her.

She did feel a bit guilty. He trusted her and he only wanted the best for her, but, for once, Lola wanted to know what was going on in her strange life and she had a feeling this was the first step to clarity. She got in the car and Lydia drove them away. It was a terribly silent trip but Lola had expected it. She just followed the images outside her tinted window and avoided eye contact with the maid. The heavenly Californian setting disappeared as the arid Arizona landscape took over. Arizona, she thought, so desolate and meaningless. Every time she left California the rest of the world, especially the nothingness closest to it, seemed so unfamiliar and useless. It was not that she feared such things but Lola was a girl of adventure and awe and where her mother lived, well, there weren't even children there. Tucked on a plateau somewhere rural, her mother's house was as cold and dull as the neighborhood it sat in.

Lola tried not to think of it. The more she thought about it the more she cringed at the inevitable. It was pointless to sit in misery when she had a mystery to focus on. She took out her green notebook and pen and began to scribble against the car sickness such tasks always brought her. She wrote down all she could remember about Tom Riddle.

A terrible wizard who scarred the magical world for decades as Lord Voldemort or he-who-must-not-be-named.

He had been an orphan attendant of the magical school Hogwarts.

He had once looked just like her father.


	2. Chapter 2: Her Mother's house

Her mother's house had once been a most magnificent sight. Resting upon the dreary edge of a small canyon, the clay home had been enigmatic yet warmly inviting. Sometimes when Lola would squint her eyes on a sunset heading up through the steep, undulating rocky road that led to the structure, it would almost look like it had once been. It could almost be beautiful and warmly inviting as it had been meant to be.

However, in the stillness of the afternoon, it was as it had become ever since her mother moved in: lifeless, bitter and frozen. Its shutters were no longer lively red but had been ignored into a scraped, russet color. The lights that used to set a majestic mood in the evenings were burnt out and never replaced. The garden and grounds were kept well enough but there were no flowers or bushes to create any sort of welcoming feeling. Even the air seemed colder and uninviting here. While the weather was warm and bursting in late spring liveliness the house was cold and practically shivering in its own sorrow.

Lola swallowed her uneasiness and put on a neutral face. She would wait to see what mood her mother was in, and then and only then, she herself would reveal any emotion to their situation. It was a necessary task and game they played and it was never fun. Lydia grudgingly dragged her bags into the home as Lola followed. She didn't even bother offering Lydia a hand, she would only scoff and ignore her.

The interior of the house was as it had been last time Lola had visited. She had expected as much. Faded, velvet, plushy seating was scattered upon the large welcoming room. Portraits of people and events she and her mother did not know hung carelessly on the walls. They used to follow her with their painted eyes when Lola was young, but now they barely looked at her. The space was quiet and filled with ridiculously pompous looking lamps and accessories. The high ceilings were dark without proper lighting but she could still feel the immenseness of the room surrounding her. Lola stood at the doorway, unwilling to close the rusted door behind her. It was her only escape and her only source of usable light. Lydia flew past her and shut it for her.

Realizing she looked awkward in the doorway, Lola grudgingly settled herself on the dusty couch closest to her. There she could see the spiral stairway and hallways that led to other parts of the home. There she could catch her mother entering the room. Lydia disappeared as Lola raised her hand and opened her small mouth to question her on her mother's location. Typical but Lola waited patiently in the silence. She wondered when she would see her dad again. He was usually all she ever pondered on when she was here. He was all she could think of to keep herself sane and calm among the madness. She heard Lydia whispering in the darkness.

"What could you possibly be thinking of?" her mother's voice said rather than asked. A silhouette of a frail woman traveled elegantly down the stair. Dressed in satin and clad in jewels, her mother's black eyes found hers and never looked away as she descended slowly in a failed attempt to stir Lola. Her mother's graying black hair was twisted and pinned cleanly to her head with a crystal comb. All in all it was an impressive attempt to wow her. The most her mother had ever done really.

She stood at the end of the stair, watching Lola silently with those dark eyes. Lola watched her back just as silent. Time had not helped her mother. She stood a measly 5'2 and her ragged nature had left her once bountiful body tired and transparent. If it wasn't her fancy clothes Lola would have never noticed her. And those eyes…they were the only resilience left in her.

"I asked you a question," her mother said without moving or looking away.

"My father,"

"Ha! Your father, _your, _he belongs to you now, does he? Might as well, you two are nothing without each other." She said, playing with her jewels.

"Yes, my father, the one whose money bought you this house." Lola said defiantly.

Her mother forced a smile, "you have grown,"

"Yes, that happens as time passes without you."

There was silence. Even as the words left her lips the harshness they spit tasted sour and lethal. Her mother laughed meekly to herself. It was a deep, hurtful sound. Lola lowered her eyes; she had lost the game yet again, her emotions got the best of her. Her mother's silent form stepped closer to the couches, almost 5 feet away… the closest she had been to Lola in two years.

"Without me? Oh no, without you. Without you or your father time passes indeed. Your things are in the guest room. I will see you at dinner, then." Her mother's form began to ascend the stairs slowly and seemingly painfully. Lola almost felt sorry for her; almost saw a bit of pain and remorse on her mother's face. She stopped at the top of the stair. Lola could only see her mother's mouth in their eternal forced, mocking smile. The rest of her was obscured by the way and the lighting.

"Try not to be a plague upon my home," her mother said. Lola bit her tongue but her mother's smile grew long and bright with glee. She ascended the rest of the stair and let a livid Lola alone in the silent mansion.

That was all she needed to see of her mother. Lola would admit a part of her, miniscule but persistent had been allowed to wonder about the mystery of that woman but that was all. No more wondering. No more longing, even if it was miniscule. All that bothered Lola now was the loss of the game. The incessant game, the repulsive, revolting game had been lost yet again. She had hoped she had grown stronger in the two years of absence but no, Lola had only grown weaker. As she stalked to the dusty guest room, she sulked in her thoughts. The room was simple. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a full length mirror. She fell on the hard bed and breathed in its musky, ancient smell. She did not even have her own room. There were rooms, many, but her mother refused to have a room for her own daughter. It was a miracle that her father got her to agree to even see Lola.

She did not cry however. Lola had run out of tears for her mother long ago. Now she only lounged frustrated and defeated. She went to her personal bag to find her notebook but found herself caught by her own pathetic reflection. She was her mother's clone. Angrily she pulled at her dark hair and scratched at her tanned skin. Why, why was she forced to look like her? Why did she have this constant reminder of all she would never have? If she looked like her father, regal and sincere, she would never think of her mother. She would never be reminded of being abandoned by that wretched woman.

Lola tore the frilly dress off and sank into her own embrace, cradling her knees. Scars and bumps from past adventures on those knees slowly began to calm her restless mind. A new bump was forming on her right knee. She had bumped it that morning. The incident at the beach flashed by her mind; she had a task to do here. Her mother's attitudes and games would not distract her again. She gathered herself of the floor and dressed quickly into shorts, sneakers and a blue hoodie. Throwing the dress aside and onto the floor she grabbed her journal and began writing and adding to the list all she knew about Lord Voldemort…Tom Riddle.

She knew it was odd. It was odd to have such consecutive dreams. It was odd to have such consecutive dreams so often. It was terrifyingly odd to have had these dreams so young. Ever since she could remember they had plagued her nights and her father's. She could tell. On nights he forgot to take his medicines he would toss and turn so violently that it would sound as if he was flying and crashing all over the room. Lola would go to his side and caress him but Sebastian Harlow would still be lost in his nightmares. He called her name but Lola could never wake him. He called Lola but it seemed it was not her voice that he searched for but her mother's. They even had the same name.

Sometimes when he allowed her to talk about the dreams to him he would comment on the characters as if he knew something about them…something she did not know. He never admitted to it however, and when Lola would insist it would lead to an argument. They both very much did not like to argue with each other so Lola rarely insisted. Dr. Stanford had been treating Lola's father for years. But when it was evident Lola was plagued with a similar disorder, the doctor's medicines did not help at first. The three of them, Sebastian and his Lolas, for her mother had not left them yet, searched the world over trying many different things to no avail. It was only when Dr. Stanford had created a new drug that the family had settled. By then her parent's marriage had fallen apart.

Mr. Harlow always told Lola that her mother had left out of jealousy. He had ignored many of her needs to address Lola and, in turn, he lost her but Lola knew the truth. She saw it in her mother's eyes; the fear was more prevalent than the hatred. Something about them scared her mother to a frail and pathetic state. Something about them was just odd and wrong.

Her journal was full of sketches and observations. How had Tom Riddle, a handsome man, turned into the creature Lord Voldemort? It was the only question that mattered. She would research his name in the orphanage records of London, of all of England if she had to. If she found his name…well, if she were to find his name then he would be real. Then, it would all be real. It could not be but it had to. There was no other explanation. Why did animals follow her, why did vases move without force, why did strangers fear her gaze and her father's appearance? Who was she? She had a weekend to figure it all out. If she found his name… then she would really let herself believe.

She closed the notebook and went to dinner silently. Her mother sat at the other end of twenty seat table and watched her without speaking the whole meal. This time, Lola did not stare back.

Lola Harlow awoke to the sight of the rising sun through the shutters of the neglected room. She did not rise with it. Lola stared at almost pretty image of the light hitting the shutters, making horizontal shadows on the bedspread upon her. She twisted under it to see the bars wiggle a bit but remain solid. She was still locked up in her mother's empty home but the thought did not murder her anymore. Not now that she had a task. Her mother never took her out of the home but she was allowed to wonder around alone the still neighborhood as long as she did not say where she was staying. She donned her sneakers, t-shirt and jeans and left the home without alerting anyone.

The morning gave the neighborhood a rising feeling and although the few neighbors out and about ignored her and she them, it was the nicest the place had ever felt. It was probably just the determined mood she was in. She passed through the neighborhood quickly and the suburban outlets that were just a few streets down. People eyed her strangely, wondering who she was. Her mother lived around very nosy people. Finally, she found a library and there, a computer. After rather inscrutable methods of research she came upon a database for orphanages in London. This was it! The search box blinked impatiently for her inquiry. She typed slowly, breathing heavily.

Tom Riddle.

It searched…nothing. Unexpectedly, her heart sank. She typed it again with the same result. Lola thought for a moment, drumming her long, slender fingers. She almost fell back off her chair when the answer came to her, it had been so simple! She typed again, this time more excitedly.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

It searched. How could she have forgotten something so obvious? Who knew how many Tom Riddle's there were in the world, the name sounded simple enough. It searched…nothing. She tried Thomas and many different spellings but there was nothing. An unexplainable sadness filled her. She should be relieved but instead it only confirmed she and her father were indeed mental. She closed the orphanage search engine and opened a general one. An afterthought struck her and she typed in the name defeated.

Jane…Harlow. It searched. She was just being ridiculous now. Her father rarely spoke of his parents or grandparents but then again, the conversation had rarely come up. It was a stupid search. She almost canceled it when the little beep from the computer stopped her. There was a match.

Coldness wrapped around her heart and Lola bit her lip as she clicked on the article. It was a paper on the death of a local nurse overseas. Her hospital was the scene of a terrorist attack in the mid 1960s. Jane Harlow, there was her picture. It was the same Jane. Lola stared at the screen but did not stir. It couldn't be. She had been wrong; it hadn't been world war two it had been a terrorist attack. But Tom said he could have stopped it. What war had he been talking about? She researched the area where the hospital had been but there was nothing. It had been in London.

He had wanted to take her away. There had been loud sirens. What kind of terrorist attack announces itself? It must have been a magical attack and it must have been covered up by the muggle government as a terrorist-

She stopped herself. What was wrong with her? The picture was faded and old; it could have been any Jane Harlow with dark hair and blue eyes. With a smile so bright it could bring warm even Lola's confused heart. She printed the story and the picture. A local Arizona girl died. It made front page of the newspaper. The town was her father's home town. She died the year her father was born.

It was all too real. There she was, her possible grandmother, her possible link to this madness in her brain but it didn't feel right to know these things not even to suspect them. If she was her father's mother and, in turn, Tom riddle's only known lover, then her father's similar appearance to Tom Riddle was more than a coincidence. It was his inheritance from his father. Her father was born 1965. In her dream Tom Riddle looked about thirty five to forty years old with most of his soul still intact. This Jane had died at 30 years old. It was plausible. It was incredible but plausible.

If they were her father's parents than they were her grandparents. And she was not Lola Harlow but Lola Riddle. Her father had told Lola once that Harlow had been his mother's maiden name. He had not known his father's family and therefore never taken their name. He had been raised by his mother's family down here in Arizona where he met Lola's mother and married her. They died before he was married. She searched the article for any mention of Jane Harlow's parents. They had refused to comment. Why had Jane ventured to London to work in a hospital? Why was there no mention of a baby or a pregnancy in the article?

She knew why. Because it was ridiculous. There was no Tom Riddle. This was just an unfortunate Harlow with coincidental timing. She was losing herself in her madness again and this time she had gone too far. She turned off the computer and packed her things. Still, she could not part with the article and the image of Jane Harlow who looked so similar to the Jane of her dreams. The only difference was that this Jane in the photo was happy.

As she walked back to her mother's dreary house she wondered. What had become of her real grandparents? She knew her mother's side had died long before her birth too. But they weren't as interesting as her father's side. Why did Tom Riddle appear to her in her dreams to look like her father? There must be some sort of psychological explanation. But why all this detail about some fantastic magical life? As she walked she never noticed the cloaked figures that followed her.


	3. Chapter 3: Lolita Riddle

Sebastian Harlow barely made it through the automatic doors of the train. He had slid in just in time. He sighed with relief. Finally, the day had ended and he was on his way home. He was happy even if the house was going to be empty. He had not received any urgent distress calls from Lolita or her mother either so that was something to celebrate. He knew it was a foolish thought but Mr. Harlow wished in his deepest of hopes that they would enjoy their time together.

The train squirmed on through the infinite tunnels and spaces. Mr. Harlow took out his leather wallet where his pictures awaited him. Every day after work he would flip through the familiar images while his contemporaries on the train napped or read the depressing newspaper. First, Lolita's school picture smiled at him with his own grey eyes. He always liked that picture of her because her characteristic impatience shown through the generic pose and aesthetic. She was too much like him. Then there was the family portrait. He, his wife and their infant daughter all dressed in soft whites smiled devilishly happy at him. Lolita would often try to replace the picture but Mr. Harlow always found it tucked away in some corner of their home and would return it to his wallet. The last picture was that of his wife when they had been happy.

The picture showed his wife's body from the hips up. She reached for something beyond the camera with a pure smile on her face. She had been reaching for him, the photographer. Lolita did not hate this picture as much as the other, then again, who could hate a photograph of a beautiful woman. It was getting dull and faded though. He wished he could replace it. The train reached his destination and he gathered his things and slid the wallet back into his back pocket. It was a lazy evening and the sky was growing bright with stars. He lightened with the thought of having a nice hot bath as soon as he got home and ordering some cheap greasy food. Lolita never let him eat things like that, insisting that he eat her food only. It would be a silent and dull evening without her.

"Sir," a young man called, he was dressed in strange robes. At first, Mr. Harlow looked around, he was the only person on the platform, but as the man came closer uneasiness filled him. The young man was not threatening in any way, in fact Mr. Harlow was much bigger in stature and frame and could have easily taken him down, but it was the robes…why did that bother him so?

"Yes?" he answered.

"My name is Alexander Sweyn, sir. I have been asked to give you an urgent message."

All of a sudden Mr. Harlow knew what it was about the robes that bothered him.

"…I do not associate myself with your world, son. Whatever it is it would be best-"

"No, sir, you do not understand. Your daughter is in great peril."

Mr. Harlow had his hands around the young man's collar in seconds. He lifted him up to his eye level.

"What the hell are you talking about?! I told you people to stay away from my family."

"Sir," the young man said calmly, although when Mr. Harlow first put his hands on him he had grimaced, "I am here to help you. Let us go somewhere safer for such a conversation."

Mr. Harlow felt the tip of the man's wand gently push against his hip.

"Who do you work for?" Mr. Harlow asked.

"I am the apprentice to Maximillian Hotspur, the ministry of magic's greatest auror. He is on his way to aid your daughter but first-"

"Who is after my daughter?!" Mr. Harlow screamed.

"Sir!" the young man pulled himself out of Mr. Harlow's grip, "please, there is no time. This way, sir."

Mr. Harlow tried to breathe and calm himself but the thought of his daughter in danger because of these people kept him at the edge. He followed the young man into an unforeseen stair and down into a section of the station he had never seen before.

"We do not know who they are but we suspect, sir, they are planning to use your daughter as a means to give rise to the dark lord again. If you remember, they attempted this before with you-"

"Yes, I know… I remember. You haven't arrested these madmen yet? That was almost fifteen years ago!" Mr. Harlow exasperated.

"Well, sir, with all due respect, every generation has its bad seeds. We cannot arrest people for having mal intentions towards the new order only those who attempt to destroy it. And, by the time we get word of these things they are usually on their way."

Alexander Sweyn was calm and collected. He had long brown hair that was slicked back, framing his handsome, young face. He could not have been more than twenty years old, but his eyes were serious and seemingly experienced with such situations. He was lithe and small in stature but had wide shoulders that made him seem older or at least wiser than most his age range.

Mr. Harlow hesitated but gave the man what he wanted, "What do you want from me?" he asked.

"There was a contract, sir, in which it was decided you and your family would sustain yourself from our world. In turn, we are to remain as far away from your life, at least to the point in which we are not noticeable. Technically, the ones after you and your daughter have broken our part of the contract but we still need your permission to-"

"Yes! Of course, just take me to my daughter!"

"Mr. Harlow," Alexander Sweyn's dark, tired eyes bore into his own, "you do understand the implications of your relinquishing your rights. At least consider the implications for your daughter."

"…What other choice do I have? Take me to my daughter."

Alexander Sweyn sighed deeply to himself and after a moment of digression grabbed Mr. Harlow's arm and they apparated into nothing.

Just outside his wife's home they appeared. Mr. Harlow fell to the floor in agony and nausea. That was never a pleasant way to travel. Alexander Sweyn surveyed the area. He took out his wand and mumbled a few spells.

"That should keep the neighbors distracted," he said to the recovering Mr. Harlow.

"You've been to my wife's house before," Mr. Harlow commented.

"… We came here first for your daughter's safety. Then I thought it would be relevant to inform you."

"Of course," Mr. Harlow said menacingly as he stood up next to the smaller Sweyn.

The place had not changed but an ominous dark sky seemed to lull above his wife's home. With one look they both began to pace toward the house. It was as it usually was, quiet and secretive but something was in the air.

Sweyn whipped out his darkly stained wand, "There has been magic here, stay behind me."

They entered the home silently but to no avail.

"Expelliarmus!" a deep and resounding voice shouted in their direction. A jet of scarlet light flew towards them.

"Protego," Alexander Sweyn quickly challenged and a blue shield appeared before them, reflecting the scarlet attack.

"Alexander, you scared me! Come help me with this," The same British voice called. Alexander quickly lowered his defenses and entered the home. Mr. Harlow heard Sweyn mumbling to the earlier voice but he did not follow him into the room. He was not ready for all of this. He could not believe it had all unraveled like this.

Slowly he walked through the wreckage. His wife's cherry wood tables were flipped and scattered as well as the rest of the furniture of the once orderly room. Most of it lay it pieces to the right of the room. Sweyn and his companion stood facing each other in the middle of the room. Two bodies lay on the ground behind them and there, Lolita sat on a stool, her face still and lost in a bad memory. Mr. Harlow rushed to her side but stopped at the sight of his wife and her maid lying on the floor. Their faces and bodies terrified in fright.

"They are only stupefied, sir, they will be all right." Sweyn said.

He recoiled in fear at the morbid sight.

"Daddy," Lolita's sweet voice called. He turned to his daughter and she fell into his arms in tears.

"Break the spell," Mr. Harlow whispered harshly.

"Sir, its best we get your daughter's statement before we deal with the muggles-"

"Now!"

"…_rennervate_," Sweyn mumbled half-heartedly.

His wife and her maid shivered back to life before his eyes. An unfinished scream reverberated out of his wife's trembling mouth. She and the maid stumbled towards the other side of the room into each other's arms, petrified of the four others in the room.

"Get, get, get," His wife's frail voice commanded, "get out!"

"Madam," Sweyn began.

"NO!" she screamed, "I will not have ANY of this! From the very beginning-" she faltered and fell into her maid's arms crying.

Mr. Harlow ignored her and turned to his daughter, "Lolita," he called her name sweetly.

"…I don't know what happened. I thought they killed her. I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry."

"Lolita, this was not your fault," Mr. Harlow said as he held her close.

"My House! Everything is destroyed! YOU, Sebastian, you and your devil child!"

"Enough, Lola," Mr. Harlow said as he stood up and aided his daughter up as well. His wife recoiled at his show of strength and authority. He sat Lolita, his daughter, down onto the stool and wiped her tears away.

"Baby, what happened?"

Lolita stared at him and past him. She was still in shock.

"I'll tell you what happened," the booming voice behind him began. A tall and burly man in his 30s, Maximillian Hotspur stood with his hands on his hips.

"They entered through the back door," he continued, "petrified the maid and went after your daughter. Your ex-wife and daughter managed to somehow avoid capture and were surrounded where we stand down here. Here, your ex-wife was stupefied in an attempt to get to your daughter in which she fell here, where you found her earlier. Now, the facts get groggy," he walked around the room a bit, stroking his mustache and beard for answers. Alexander Sweyn watched him with vivid, dark eyes.

"Your daughter seemed to have used some sort of _Relashio_ charm variant to knock the assailants and the contents of the home that-a-way," he said pointing to the mess on the right of the room.

"It must have been a strong one too;" Sweyn chimed in, "for the aforementioned assailants fled the scene just as Sir Hotspur entered it."

"…Is that what happened, Lola?" Mr. Harlow asked his wife. Shaking, she nodded her head.

"_Reparo_," Sweyn mumbled and the house returned to its original state. His wife and her maid marveled silently at the magic.

"Shall we obliviate the muggles, Sir Hotspur?" Sweyn asked.

"No," Mr. Harlow's wife answered. Her voice was more stable now that her home had been restored, "I already know of magic…it is in the contract. I will only tell my maid of the evil you people do so it would be useless to, well, to do it."

Lydia questioned his wife in Spanish but Lola hushed her. The wizards rolled their eyes and turned their attention back to Mr. Harlow and Lolita. He stood holding her sitting form to his side. She was still lost in shock.

"Still," Maximillian Hotspur pursued, "a girl with no wand or prior magical training producing such a strong charm is a bit more peculiar than impressive."

"My daughter knows not of magic if that is what you are implying," Mr. Harlow said strongly.

"But your ancestry works against you, Mr. Harlow."

"As it always will, now, why are you still here?"

"The breach in contract, Mr. Harlow, the breach in contract," Maximillian Hotspur commented as he sat on one of the plushy couches, "your daughter has shown herself to be a natural. She is of the proper age to begin classes-"

"No, thank you," Mr. Harlow uttered, holding his daughter closer to him. His wife and her maid remained in each other's arms on the other side of the room.

"Sir," Sweyn began as he strode over to stand behind Maximillian Hotspur, as if to add emphasis to Sir Hotspur's statement, "the ministry of magic will not allow a child of such skill to go without some sort of training-"

"My daughter belongs with me in my world, young man. And I don't give a damn what your ministry has to say about that. We had a deal! I stay out of your lives and you stay out of mine. I will renew the contract if I have to."

"That's just it," a new voice chimed in from the fireplace. Through a burst of fire a figure arose from the fireplace. Clad in similar robes and fashions as the other wizards, a tall, black man came upon them.

"The minister of magic doesn't want to risk another scene like this. He wants this girl of yours to be able to protect herself properly and to know her history."

"Minister Shacklebolt," Sweyn said, looking confused at the man's presence.

"I don't care what you want, Kingsley. We had a deal. I had a deal with you and that idiot Cornelius Fudge."

"Times have changed, Sebastian, this is not a safe route for your daughter."

"How would you know what is and what isn't a safe route for my daughter? Do you have any idea how they will treat my daughter if she went to that awful place? Like a criminal!"

"Sebastian," the tall man sighed, he was a much older man, "She deserves to know the truth. Trying to suppress her magic with your muggle medicines, although impressive, will only drive her mad. She is not like you." He handed Mr. Harlow a few moving pictures of Lolita earlier that day.

"She has been researching him," Mr. Shacklebolt said.

Mr. Harlow felt ultimately defeated. He turned back to his daughter, who sat staring at Mr. Shacklebolt.

"Lolita," Mr. Harlow began.

"That's Kingsley Shacklebolt," she said, staring wide eyed at the man who could only stare back at her with a grim expression on his dark face, "that's Kingsley Shacklebolt, daddy. He's real, he's right there. It's all real."

"Lolita," her father tried again, "I never told you."

"That means the magic is real, and, in turn, Harry Potter. That means Tom Riddle is real too."

Lolita stared at nothingness now.

"Yes, they are all real, Lolita. I never told you because I never thought it would get this bad."

"Tom Riddle is my grandfather."

"Lolita! Listen to me, please. Look at me…look at your father."

Lolita's grey eyes met her father's, "and you never told me. You never told me about Jane or Tom or any of them. You never told me that that's why mom hates us. Because we are freaks. Because we are stained with his evil blood. You never told me."

"…I was fifteen when Albus Dumbledore came to see me for the first time. I had been plagued with dreams of my father and mother since I was a baby. My grandparents…they didn't know what to think. He told them of doctors that were working on suppressing this magic gene. They helped me, Lolita, but they could barely help you. We made a deal then, him, Fudge and me. I was to never associate myself with any magic folk. It was far too dangerous. As far as Albus Dumbledore knew, Tom Riddle was not aware of my presence on this earth and with all that was happening, it was best it remained that way. I did not want to know my father, Lolita. What Dumbledore told me had been enough. Who knew what he would have done too us if he knew, darling. This was the year Harry Potter had been born and orphaned. Tom Riddle was finally killed in 1998. Every part of him was finally gone, Lolita. I felt it when he died. My dreams...got worse. then when you were born....well ever since I have hardly needed my medicine, at least not as much as I needed it before. I didn't realize it was because of you."

"He's in me?"

"No, no Lolita you cannot believe in such things! He is long dead and gone but…his blood does run in our veins. That scares people, Lolita. They have convinced themselves that he could come back through us. It's bullshit but there are those…there are dark wizards out there still loyal to Tom Riddle and they will believe anything. I never thought they would find us."

"The ministry was broken into last night. They wasted no time finding you," Mr. Shacklebolt spoke, "If she is not trained she will be at their mercy. You both must come into ministry custody. No contract can keep you safe until these vigilantes are captured and tried."

"What about my wife?" Mr. Harlow asked.

"Ex-wife," his wife murmured.

"She will have to be relocated with her maid. I assure you this will be done confidentially and safely,"

"Just like my contract was?" Mr. Harlow threw his head into his hands. How could this happen?

Mr. Shacklebolt ignored the comment, "It is May, Mr. Harlow. I expect Miss Lola Harlow to be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September. You have four months to school yourself and your daughter in all things magic. I wish you the best of luck,"

"Who will know?" Mr. Harlow asked.

"Who will know what, sir?"

"Who will know of our ancestry?"

"Only the headmaster, sir. We will continue our investigation onto who it is after your daughter. Before I go, I have to ask her something."

Mr. Harlow hesitated but got out of Mr. Shacklebolt's way. Lolita looked up into his kind eyes. His was bald, bold, tall and thin. He stooped down to be face to face with her.

"Miss Harlow, do you remember anything peculiar about those who attacked you tonight?"

Lolita's head filled with horrid memories and she recoiled into the warm embrace of her father.

"She doesn't remember, really Kingsley it is too soon," Mr. Harlow explained.

"It is very important, miss Harlow," Kingsley continued.

"…I remember," His wife's voice was no longer trembling. All the men turned to look upon the now stronger looking figure.

"They were mostly shadowy and like smoke. They had these masks…like skulls. There were three of them. One was a woman, the other two were men. Other than that I don't know what to tell you."

Her Spanish accent was prevalent but her voice was smooth and collected. Lydia the maid crossed herself and her mistress. His wife brushed away the gesture.

"The woman," his wife continued, "hit me with the…the attack."

Mr. Harlow felt himself growing weak with emotions. First his daughter now his wife. When was he going to get the chance to live a normal life again?

"I thank you for your services, gentlemen," Kingsley Shacklebolt announced to the other aurors in the room, "I hope you will take Mrs. Harlow's testimony and use it wisely."

Hotspur and Sweyn watched the minister of magic incredulously.

"I suggest you go on and get to work," Shacklebolt said more authoritatively and the aurors began to gather their things and head for the fireplace.

Mr. Harlow lifted his daughter into his arms and headed for the door.

"I know you will not want her here and frankly I do not want her here either, Lola," he said as he gathered his daughter's possessions. He did not look at his wife as talked to her. He would have surely broken down at the sight of her. He stopped just before leaving, "but I thank you for taking the shot for her. If you had not she would have been kidnapped for sure and I would have lost her forever."

And with that he left the drained home and neither he nor his daughter would return for a very long time.


	4. Chapter 4: the soldier

_alright well i don't own a couple of these characters we all know which ones. Harry Potter world and awesomeness however does belong to miss rowling. ummmm, well that's it, enjoy!!!_

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* * *

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Lolita Harlow did not dream of Tom Riddle anymore. Now she only saw three, bone masks and the fire that had erupted out of her. It had erupted right out of her. There was no process, no moment of clarity, only the fire that had erupted and consumed the entire room. In these dreams she saw her mother and her maid burning, petrified and unable to move. They burned away with her sense of reality.

Sebastian Harlow attempted to talk to his mute daughter but to no avail. A whole month passed without them saying a word to each other. She was only like this with him. She finished her schooling and now spent the first days of summer alone on the beach. He did not expect her to forgive him so easily but he did want to get past this silent treatment. Even when he tried to speak to her she was gentle and solemn which only made the waiting harder for Sebastian. She never seemed angry, only disappointed. They fought all the time before but the fights would be forgotten or dismissed. They had never gone so long without talking and slowly but surely, Sebastian's attempts grew less frequent. She would come to him; he rationalized, in the nights when his pain would slip out of his eyes in the shape of tears.

One afternoon Lola came right up to her father and asked, "What do you know about Tom and Jane?"

Astonished by the sound of her voice, Sebastian Harlow faltered. He soon focused and spoke, "They met when Jane was eighteen. Tom Riddle was about twenty six and was falling deeply into his own madness. Your grandmother was in the army, and at that point in time she was stationed in London."

Lola sat attentively with an unreadable look in her grey eyes.

"I only know this," Sebastian Harlow continued, uncomfortable with the topic but happy to talk to his daughter all the same, "because that is the way Jane Harlow told her parents when they asked her whose baby she was having. It was a different time then, Lolita, and women who weren't married or almost thirty did not have babies. It was her first night off base camp and she and a few friends went out for drinks. I don't know why Tom was in London but there he was on her path….the way they described her to me, well, Jane was a terribly adventurous girl and that seemed to attract all the wrong people. They met other times after many years apart and every time Jane told her parents that Tom grew more 'unnatural'. You and I both know why that is."

"The horcruxes," Lola blurted out.

"…in the end when she did get pregnant she did not tell him, not until he saw her again. That dream…that dream you had last…where she died. Lolita that is where my dreams end. All else I know about Tom is through what Dumbledore told me. The only dreams I ever have had where of when Jane knew him."

"She was pregnant when she died…" Lola stated rather than asked.

"Yes, I did not die in the bombing. Her doctor friends took me out of her and when my grandparents came to bury their daughter they got me in exchange. They raised me and told me about both of my parents… at least what they knew. While your dreams are through his perspective…mine are through Jane's. She cared deeply for him and would have lost herself in his madness if she had not gotten pregnant with me. I never blamed her for not being around because…because I always knew she wanted to be."

"Daddy, how are we going to do this?"

Sebastian Harlow looked deep into his daughter's eyes without an answer or hope for one. He pulled her close and held many years worth of tears back, "I do not know, Lolita. I have no idea what I am going to do while you are away at school. They sent me a letter the other day, proposing I introduce myself to that world as part of the ministry of magic's exchange program with the British and American government. My bosses already send word that the switch would be very well and good. Jack Robinson even told me that moving back to London would be 'what I need'."

"Jack Robinson is an idiot,"

"Yes, I know, he talks too much,"

"Daddy," Lola asked, "if it's all set up… why not? I…I don't want to be alone out there."

"Because I am afraid, Lolita. I have been avoiding…them…well, for all my life. I'm afraid too, of what will happen if they find out where our magic comes from. The truth has already been lost to the wrong people…it could get out easily. And I have been avoiding London, too. I haven't been there in so long."

Lola knew this story. Her father had been raised in Arizona but had gone to university in London and only moved back in his late 30s. He had spent many summers in London before then with his grandparents as they searched for any news of Tom Riddle. Instead all they got was a visit from Dumbledore.

"But I suppose I have no choice now," Sebastian spoke, "you are my daughter and I will follow you to hell if I have to. You will not face this lunacy alone. I hope you know London is a dreary and rainy place. Are you sure you do not want to go to the school in France? It is a bit nicer there."

"I want to see Jane's… my grandmother's grave."

Sebastian Harlow watched his daughter, "Now Lolita I do not want you to lose yourself in this. The past is seductive but meaningless; all it holds for you is pain rather than revelation. You are going to London to learn, of all the crazy things, magic, not to solve their mystery."

Lola sighed, "Well, I'm glad you are coming with me, daddy."

Sebastian Harlow knew she was changing the topic but he did not feel like fighting anymore, "I am too, darling, I am too."

* * *

Tom Marvolo Riddle stalked the streets of London. Restless, he was yearning for something he could not name. Overpriced food would not do it, boring muggle activities failed, not even cheap and pathetic magic tricks brought relief to him. He was dulled and if he could not find his way back to Knockturn Alley he would surely lose his mind upon the pathetic mortals about him-

The kiss was warm and unexpected. He had lost all sense of his surroundings when the blue-eyed soldier turned back to him and pulled him into it. Just as quickly as it began it ended. Tom Marvolo Riddle was speechless.

"You should smile, handsome! The world is good, you're alive! And a pretty girl just kissed you, you should smile more." She said.

Tom could only think of one thing to say to the audacious muggle, "…that's, that's not very proper etiquette for a soldier,"

"I'm not a very proper soldier," she said and she and her muggle friends began to laugh uncontrollably. He could smell and taste the beer in their air. He began to walk away when she pulled him towards her again. She was strong.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight, Limey?"

Tom felt himself growing mad, "Limey?! HOW DARE YOU? Who in the world do you think you are, you pompous muggle?" he asked, wriggling himself out of her grasp.

"Muggle? Haven't heard that one before. You'll have to explain to me what that one means."

"I don't have to do anything, now, excuse me,"

"Let me ask you something," she said, putting herself in his path, "Are your plans any more interesting than spending the night with a lovely stranger?"

Tom scoffed, "you fancy yourself lovely, then?"

She smiled, "oh darling I know it,"

"Well, that's all well and good; have fun being loud, obnoxious and lovely,"

"Wait!" she turned him around again. He reached for his wand instinctively.

"What if I could make you king of the world? What if I could make you live forever?" she asked.

Tom fell silent, had he missed something about this girl?

"…I can see it in your eyes, that's what you want."

She was a muggle, he was sure of it.

"What would you give me if I gave you forever?" she asked, her eyes were a melted blue.

"Come on, Jane, leave the poor guy alone," one of her friends called.

"Hey, what's your name?" she asked.

Pompous, drunk, American, muggle.

"How would you do that, keep me forever?" he asked.

He did not know why but he wanted to know. What could she possibly say?

She chuckled to herself a bit before turning back to Tom with a dreamy look in her drunken eyes.

"Well you'd have to waste away with me for one night before I let you in on that secret." She said.

Tom sighed deeply; he had had enough of this. He rarely talked to people, nevertheless muggles, and this silly mind game was getting old. Still, he wanted to try something.

"Stand still," he said as he turned to fully face her. Her calm demeanor turned curious and a bit nervous. Tom had always had this effect on women. He leaned in closer to her.

"Hey, what's the idea?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"I'm trying to read your mind," Tom said completely serious. Her friends broke out into wild banter and laughter. The girl before him, however, remained confused and a bit tense.

"I never gave you permission to do that, how forward of you!" she said sternly. Her friends only lost themselves in more glee.

Tom was now the confused one, "so you can kiss me but I cannot read your mind? Are you insane?" he asked.

Her friends stopped laughing at his harshness.

"You needed my kiss," she said almost instantly, "you haven't been kissed in a while and never like that. I, however, have grown tired of people attempting to read my mind and assess the situation. I'm not a problem…I don't need solving."

"…you don't know anything about me,"

"I know everything. You live alone, you eat alone, you never laugh out of happiness only out of success or someone else's folly. You've never been in love and you don't believe in it. It is silly and superficial. All you care about is yourself and making something out of this shell of a person you believe to be whole and worth something. I used to be like you… and this person you are becoming, this higher being, isn't, well, anything." She finished.

Everyone was silent now and waiting for his reaction.

Tom spoke, "I am something…I am the only thing."

"Right and you can read minds too," she said as she began to turn away.

"Do not underestimate me,"

She turned back sudden and fierce, "underestimate you? You?! What have you done? What have you seen?"

"I've seen people die, alone and sick within their own pity. You do not know me, soldier."

"What's your name, limey?"

"Jane, come on, let's go," one of her friends begged.

"He knows my name I should know his!"

"Jane!" her other friends chorused.

"My name is Tom Riddle, muggle. You will not forget it." And with that he walked on through the night. He would have easily forgotten her just like he did most of his muggle encounters, but the same soldier was in the paper the next day. Her base had been spared a bombing because she and a few other soldiers had foiled some terrorist's fool attack. In the sub heading under her serious photo it said she had been shipped off to Korea, where a war was ending he would later find out. He didn't know at the time that he had been searching the muggle papers for any sign of her and he would continue to do that until he had satisfied his curiosity.

* * *

"Are you ready, Miss Harlow?" Alexander Sweyn asked as he, Lola, her father, and Sir Hotspur approached a seemingly closed bar and inn on the Charing Cross Road of London. The Harlows had arrived two nights prior to the aurors' visit and had been settled into their new and terribly tiny London apartment. Well, her father had been settled, Lola's things were still packed.

She nodded and they entered the pub. It was dank but strangely cozy. The main floor had a bar with unmovable guests, a few private parlor rooms, and a large dining room. The tenants and lively drunks perused them but did not break from their conversations and banter. A swell, pink=faced and blonde lady came upon them and smiled.

"Good afternoon, Alexander! And Sir Hotspur how lovely to see you," she said as she handed the two a beer, "that's on the house."

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Longbottom but I am on duty and cannot drink," Alexander replied, very proud and business-like. Sir Hotspur's grin went unnoticed.

"Oh, right-o, I keep forgetting you are all grown up and an auror now," she said with a wink, "Please, darling, do call me Hannah."

As Sir Hotspur downed his drink Sweyn turned and introduced the Harlows.

"Ah, what a doll of a daughter you have, Mr. Harlow! Takes after her handsome father of course. You know, he is not here but my son, Nicolas, this is also going to be his first year at Hogwarts, god bless them." Mrs. Longbottom spoke. Mr. Harlow tried to look pleasant.

"I say as long as he stays clear of Slytherin, Neville and I will be happy parents. No offense, sir Hotspur." She mused.

"Oh none took, Hannah. We ought to be heading out to Diagon Alley now but I do wish you and your family the best." Sir Hotspur said as he wiped his beard looking dreamy and happy.

Mrs. Longbottom smiled and led the way to the back of the bar where a chilly little courtyard with a brick wall awaited them. Sweyn cleared his throat and approached the wall. He took out his dark, mahogany wand and tapped the brick wall three times. Suddenly, the wall gave way revealing an unimaginable and glorious sight.

There, beyond the wall, was Diagon Alley. Brilliant stores tried to outshine each other in their magic and wonder. Scores of magic folk strode the streets bargaining and buying. Lola Harlow took her first steps into the magical world. As she watched wide- eyed the glory about her, Mr. Harlow turned to Sir Hotspur.

"I did not know you were a Hogwarts alumni, Sir Hotspur, or of the house of Slytherin."

Sir Harlow grinned, "Now, sir, please do not be so judgmental. Slytherin may have a bad reputation but scores of wizards and witches have graduated just fine like me. You never know, Miss Harlow might follow my footsteps there."

"I wouldn't mind," Lola said before their conversation grew into a battle, as she knew both her father and Sir Hotspur were bound to turn it into, "My ancestors did create it, even if I don't agree with their intentions."

"What do you believe in, Miss Harlow?" Sweyn asked curiously.

Lola thought for a moment but could only shake her head, "Honestly Mr. Sweyn, I do not know,"

"You can call me Alexander, Miss Harlow," he said as he walked by her side. She liked his presence most of all out of her three associates. He was youthful yet wise, and the most optimistic of the men around her. He had bags under his mysterious dark eyes now. When Sir Hotspur had caught her starting at Sweyn he had leaned in close and told her the poor boy kept losing sleep trying to solve her case.

"Well then you must call me Lola, Alexander," she said. They exchanged pleasant smiles.

Sweyn led them to a narrow and shabby store whose sign read '_Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC'. _Lola recalled seeing Harry Potter in one of her dreams here. Then she had marveled at the time the store had been established but now she felt her stomach grow tight. She was to receive her own wand.

Mr. Harlow hesitated at the doorstep, "must we go here first? Shouldn't we be heading towards the bank?"

"Well, Sweyn was thinking you and I take care of that dull business while he stay behind and with Lola and help her with her wand," sir Hotspur spoke before Lola or Sweyn could attempt to. Mr. Harlow did not look convinced. Sir Hotspur persisted, "You see, Mr. Harlow, receiving your wand is a special and arduous task in a young wizard's life. We might as well save ourselves some time and let them take care of this, how do you Americans say? Oh yes, 'iconic life moment'."

Mr. Harlow was growing tired of sir Hotspur's half-hearted smiles but he consented and grudgingly left Lola in Sweyn's care. The two of them, Lola and Sweyn, excitedly entered the store. Countless, narrow boxes were piled neatly right up to the ceiling of the small store. There seemed to be no one around but the sly smile on Sweyn's lips told Lola otherwise.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander, fancy seeing you here." Sweyn said as a man appeared as if out of nowhere behind the shabby counter. He was pale-eyed and white-haired but wore a pleasant smile on his face that seemed to lighten the world for a hundred years. Lola could not help but be filled with giddiness and happiness at the sight of the old man and his infectious smile.

"Alexander Sweyn, mahogany 9420 darkly stained finish with the strong core of a dragon's heartstrings. You look lively, my boy."

Alexander laughed heartily and clasped his hands in the old man's withering palms, "Thank you, sir, as do you. I would like to introduce you to my friend, Lola Harlow; this September will start her first year at Hogwarts."

The old man known as Ollivander smiled at Lola but soon his smile faded into a knowing look. Lola was frozen in her stare. Just as quickly as it had happened, the iciness had ended. Ollivander waved her closer and she did.

"Come here, young lady, do come. Lola, is t? It is your first time about these parts, yes?" the old man asked. Lola nodded. He knew, he looked at her and he knew whose granddaughter she was. Lola was freaking out in her own head.

"There is no need to be afraid, my dear. I have the perfect choice for you," Ollivander said as he stooped down off his rickety stool and rummaged through his boxes. Sweyn gave Lola an encouraging smile but she could only wonder what the old shopkeeper thought of her. She tried to steady herself.

"So," she began shakily, "you got your wand here, Alexander?"

"Everyone does, Lola, this is Ollivander's! He never forgets a client. It's kind of heartwarming how dedicated he is." Alexander said merrily. Ollivander came upon them and presented an eight inch, chestnut wand to Lola. She looked to Sweyn for assistance.

"Go on, Lola," Sweyn encouraged, "try it out. Just pick it up."

Lola remembered what had happened to Harry Potter when he had first come into the store himself. She sighed deeply and hoped for the best but as soon as her fingertips touched the wand it exploded into a show of green fireworks around the room. Lola quickly pulled away and practically jumped out the window.

Ollivander simply hummed to himself and went back to his boxes and searched for another wand.

"Wow, haha, well that was rather showy, miss, you sure you haven't done this before?" Sweyn teased goodheartedly. Lola remained silent and indignant.

"Oh, do not worry, Lola. It happens to us all," Sweyn chuckled handsomely, "You should have seen me my first time here, it was a miracle I didn't burn the whole store down!"

Lola gave in to his good mood and smiled weakly.

"There's a good girl," Sweyn taunted with a glorious smile upon his young face.

"Try this one," Ollivander said as he seemed to appear next to Lola. She was still taken aback by his sudden entrances. This wand was the same size as the other but almost pure white and bone-like. Lola curiously reached down at the bewildering thing that seemed to have been calling to her for a very long time and only now had she picked up on its signal. Nothing blew up or burned and all three smiled.

"'tis a glorious wand, that one, my dear," Ollivander said, "made of a rare yew that shines like bone itself. Its core is that of a glorious unicorn hair, it is most pure and light."

"…it feels light in my hands," Lola muttered. She was awed by the wholeness she suddenly felt.

Ollivander laughed, "Of course, my dear, of course. A light wand will guide you on your way. Yes, yes. It is very fitting, very fitting indeed."

"It is a beautiful wand, Lola," Sweyn commented but Lola was still lost in the unexpected feeling. She wanted to cry. Her father had returned with bags of golden coins and as Sir Hotspur was helping him pay the door swung open revealing two fourteen year old boys dressed in Slytherin regalia. They had been laughing about something but as soon as they noticed Sweyn they hushed up and entered the store. The store was unbearably silent for five minutes.

"Hello, Aachen and Jove," Sweyn said forcibly.

"'ello, Alex, you are lookin' well," one of the boys said as the other nodded in Sweyn's direction.

"What are you doing here?" Sweyn asked.

"Well, you know Aachen; boy can't seem to keep a wand in one piece for more than a year, ow!" the Jove boy said as the other pinched him.

"I don't think Alexander cares, Jove," Aachen spoke harshly to his companion. Jove glared at Aachen.

"No need to fight boys, we were just leaving," Sweyn said cheerily, Lola, her father and Sir Hotspur took his words as the cue to go. Before he left Sweyn turned back to the boys smiling, "and just because I graduated, kiddies, does not mean I don't care. Have a good day now. You be careful, Mr. Ollivander!"

"You two, Alexander!" Ollivander said and waved goodbye as they turned the corner.

"Well that was terribly awkward," Lola stated as she carefully placed her wand in its carrying box and safely away.

Sweyn smiled devilishly, "They have to act civilized and cultured around me. Lola. It's just part of the culture. Besides, I never was too nice to those two blokes. Annoying little buggers,"

Lola laughed and walked breezily through the stores and magic folk. They stopped at many other stores where Lola received her robes and books for the year as well as many other little things Sweyn and Sir Hotspur found important or essential to a young witch's first year at Hogwarts. While her father grimaced at all the money he was spending, Sweyn and Sir Hotspur happily showed her around. When they returned to the muggle side of London later that very day, Lola felt a million times grateful she had such generous body guards. As Sir Hotspur and her father went out for a drag, Lola sat marveling at all her new things.

"You like them now," Sweyn commented as he slid into a chair beside her, "but I assure you by the end of this year you will rejoice in reselling these books."

"…Alexander, I still can't believe all this," Lola confessed. Alexander Sweyn was silent for a while but he soon smiled again.

"Oh I promise you it is all very real, Lola…I have something for you," he said happily.

Lola looked up at him, trying to read his inscrutable, happy face. Sweyn sheepishly made a show of having nothing in his hands but soon pulled out from behind him a small, golden cage. Inside the cage, the most beautiful cherry-colored owl stood cheerfully sleeping. Lola gasped as she accepted the cage and bird.

Sweyn smiled wider, "Her name is Lily Beau, Lola. She used to be my magical familiar and was to carry on in my family but my little sister, Adeline, is only three and in no need of her. It seems a shame to have her waste her life bored in my home when she so does love Hogwarts,"

"Alexander, she's beautiful! I've never had a pet before-"

"She is not a pet," Sweyn interrupted calmly; "she is your magical familiar now, Lola. She will protect you and guide you on your lofty quest. Lily Beau is a smart and terribly protective darling. I don't know what I would have done without her,"

"…Are you sure? I mean," Lola began. Sweyn held up his lithe hand to stop her.

"Lola, you need her now. Besides your father already spent so much money today. Consider her a gift, on loan, of course." Sweyn said with a wicked smile on his face.

Lola sighed but soon joined him in smiles. She petted the sleepy bird who cooed tiredly to herself.

"What a pretty name, Lily Beau," Lola commented as she stroked the soft feathers.

"Well her ancestors, Lily and Beau, respectively, had been great familiars to my parents. It seemed the only proper name for her. You know, Lily Beau knows my address by heart and I wrote my work address there too in case you ever need to write to me." Sweyn said.

"…You are a very kind man, Sweyn." Lola said.

"I only want the best for you, Lola. You deserve that much. Now go off to bed, tomorrow you will be on your way to your first year of Hogwarts school of wizardry and witchcraft. I'll be there discussing manly business with your father and Sir Hotspur,"

Lola laughed and placed the cage and her new, sleepy companion by her bed post, "goodnight, Alexander!"

"Goodnight, Lola," he said sincerely.

She closed her door, changed to pajamas and practically bounced onto her bed.

"Goodnight, Lily Beau," she said as she drifted off to sleep. This night she dreamt of pleasant nothings.

* * *

_So what do you guys think? who were those cloaked figures? Will Lola even survive long enough to get to Hogwarts? I am DYING to hear some feedback people! _


	5. Chapter 5: The Hogwarts Express

_Well, i realized i made some technical mistakes in the last two chapters so that's been updated. :) Thanks for all the support everyone!_

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Sebastian Harlow was up at dawn with the rest of the edgy city. He had received his first letter to his new address that morning. Unfortunately it had come from his wife. Politely she asked to never be looked for again and very poignantly mentioned how that included both he and Lolita. As soon as he had finished reading it he crumpled it up, tore it to pieces and threw it away. There was no need for Lolita to read or know the letter had ever come. He stood in his stingy balcony in the unmissed London fog and lit up a damp cigarette. He had returned to the dreadful habit as soon as his feet had touched the British ground.

London had not changed. It still rested calm and collected upon the bank of the River Thames making or breaking sleepy dreams all the same. He always felt lulled here, as if under some spell of comfort and opulence. He mirthlessly laughed at his own judgment. A spell, he thought, that would explain everything. A small, tanned hand reached up and tore the damp and half-smoked cigarette out of his mouth. He turned to see Lolita drowning it in the sink and discarding of it.

"No," she simply said and began to make them breakfast. He tried not to laugh at her when she did outrageously cute things like that. She was always just trying to take care of him. Didn't she know that he was the father and she the child? Without a word Sebastian Harlow sat and feasted on the lovely breakfast his daughter prepared for him.

"So, darling, have you packed all your things?" he asked, trying to seem optimistic and happy.

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about that," Lolita said as she finished her breakfast.

"…What's on your mind?" he asked.

"While I am in Hogwarts, can you visit me?" she asked timidly.

Sebastian Harlow smiled, "I will visit you, as often as I can. They will have to hire a body guard if they think they are going to keep me away. Do remember though that I will be starting a new job here which, well, new people… magic people. Even I do not know all the details yet,"

Lolita looked nervous and worried. He tried to relax her, "Alexander was telling me last night that the little owl he gave you can relay letters, packages and things. We will both have to adjust to letter writing then, hmm? Rather untimely for me since you just got me using those text messages."

"Daddy, we've never been apart."

Sebastian knew this moment would have come sooner or later. He had expected it at the train station, "Lolita, this is all I can give you. If you stay with me back in California or any other non-magical place they will come after us again. Here at least we have protection. You will learn to protect yourself. You are not like I was. I had, I have magic but it has never been so adamant to appear like it is with you. Ever since you were little you had complications due to your medicines which you never really had to take. I cannot and will not let you make yourself sick with those medicines."

"…It's going to be weird," Lolita began, "not taking them."

Sebastian smiled kindly, "hopefully you will feel better not having to take them,"

"I still don't understand," Lolita began as took his dish and her own to the sink and started to wash them, "how in the world did those medicines work?"

Sebastian shook his head, "he tried to explain it to me once but I never really wrapped my mind around the concept,"

"He?"Lola questioned.

"…yes, Dumbledore," Sebastian said. The room filled with silence. He sighed and answered her unasked question, "he was a good man. We understood each other."

"…do you think the dreams will stop?"

"…honestly? No, but, I think they will lessen like they did for me," He stood and put on his coat. They would be late to the station if they kept lounging about, "are you ready to go now, darling?"

Lolita was dressed and awaiting him by the door.

"Well, then," he said, forcing a smile and helping her with her luggage. There was a knock on their door, Lolita opened it.

"You look dashing today, Alexander," she commented as the young man entered the home and grabbed some of her luggage.

"Trying out the new British terms, eh?" he questioned as he led them to the car.

"Dashing is a universal term," Lolita said as she cradled the little bird cage in her lap. Alexander only smiled and got in the car. The car pushed forward. Sir Hotspur was driving them. They all sat in uncomfortable silence as the train station became clear on the horizon. It was sooty and ordinary but the clamor and upheaval around it made the station look like an unrivaled mess. The four of them excited the car and entered the station. Lily Beau hooted indignantly at the passerby commuters who watched the group curiously.

"You'd think with all the clamor they get around this time every year," Sir Hotspur had begun but the sounds of the train station overpowered even his booming voice. Lola's stomach was tight and heavy; she cradled the golden cage close to her swiftly beating heart.

"It's nothing to worry about, Lola," Alexander's sweet voice chimed in close to her ear, "they are only staring because of Lily beau. Indignant, little thing she is this morning."

She tried to smile at him but her heart was beating so high in her throat that she felt that if she moved her mouth it would beat right out of her. They passed stations eight and nine and slowed down. She had seen this place before in her dreams of Harry Potter. The barrier stood out to her only because she knew what it was.

"Where to now?" Mr. Harlow asked.

"Through the barrier, sir," Alexander said. He tried to explain it Mr. Harlow but the more he talked the less it made sense, "just trust me." Alexander finished and drove the cart straight into the barrier. He disappeared. Mr. Harlow's grey eyes widened as he turned to see if anyone had seen that. No one around them reacted.

"Come on now," Sir Hotspur groaned as he led them through the barrier to platform 9 and ¾.

Mr. Harlow grimaced.

"Just trust in the magic, daddy," he heard Lolita say.

"That's always been the problem, darling," he managed as they walked right on through.

On the other side a new setting met their eyes. Thick white steam was pouring from a magnificent scarlet train docked and beaming with life. The mist obscured the bumbling persons around them but the pointy hats, brooms and ubiquitous owl noises led them to believe they were in the right place. Lola however could not take her eyes off the train. Glorious and shiny, it was massive! It was a maroon reddish color that stood starkly against the soot drenched brick of King's Cross station. She had never ridden on a train before. It was nearly eleven o'clock, and families were kissing their children goodbye as the boarded the red train.

"All your things have been put away, Lola," Alexander Sweyn said as he appeared before them through the mist of the steam. He handed over her personal bag, "You will have to change into your robes before you reach Hogsmeade."

"I know," Lola managed to say before her heart clamped up her throat.

"Now you remember what I told you yesterday, alright? Use lily Beau well and don't be so nervous! There are plenty of kids on there that are muggle born too and probably know less than you do." Sweyn said attempting to reassure her. Lola could only nod.

"Sweyn is right, miss Harlow," sir Hotspur interrupted, "I refuse to believe that the countless hours we spent telling you of Hogwarts will go to waste."

He referred to the summer months they had spent telling her and her father everything they already knew through their dreams. For some reason her father did not want the aurors to know they suffered from those dreams. She tried to smile and nod but a pressure was building in her chest. The aurors said their goodbyes and left to go talk to others they knew in the station. Her father's warm hand fell on her frail shoulder. She turned to see him fall down to his knees to only still be above her eye sight.

He looked down at her, "I forgot to tell you that I'm proud of you, Lolita. You are doing something I never had the courage to do. I don't want you to be sad, darling. I think that this world is where you were always meant to be. This is a new beginning, Lolita, and I want you to start fresh. Please do not drown yourself in worry, my dear. Those two bubble heads although crude will find those who attacked you soon. I just want you to be...happy."

He was smiling but Lola could see it in his eyes. He was hurting and just as worried as she was. They embraced tightly as a whistle blew overhead. Silently she entered a compartment and stuck her dark head out its window. There the three were waving her goodbye and wishing her well. The train began to slide away. The three of them got smaller and hazier and soon all she could see was the bend of the station. She did not cry as she had expected herself to.

Lola pulled herself into the compartment, closed the window and sat there, silently contemplating everything. The knot in her stomach was loosening but now her head was fussing. She let it drop into her hands. Breathing deeply she let her eyes shut and her body relax. Why was she so nervous?

"It's just a hat, Albus!" a voice called from outside the compartment. A bushy red headed girl with frustrated brown eyes stood just outside the opaque door with her hands on her hips. She was already dressed in the Hogwarts robes.

"Don't call me that here," another voice whined just out of sight. The redheaded girl rolled her eyes and entered Lola's compartment.

"Oh, hello," the girl said, "I'm Rose, do you mind if my cousin and I sit here?"

Lola hesitated. She had never been shy before but this was her first real encounter with a magician her age. Slowly she nodded and tried to smile and look friendly. The girl looked so familiar though. Rose returned the smile and settled herself down, brushing the bushy hair out of her face.

"This weather does nothing for me," she said after a moment of silence towards Lola.

"Please, your hair is always like that," a boy said as he entered the compartment. Lola audibly gasped at the sight of him. He was skinny and pale but his eyes were brilliantly green and his hair bountifully brown. He was the exact replica of Harry Potter. The boy stared at her as he sat down next to his cousin who eyed her as well.

"I," Lola tried to speak but the realization that she was sharing a compartment with Harry Potter's descendants astounded her.

"…you alright?" Rose asked timidly.

"Um yes, sorry, I, um, am very nervous," Lola managed to say. The two staring at her now gasped and grew curiously happy.

"You are American," Rose said with a gleeful smile on her pretty face, "I've never met an American before!"

Lola let out her held breath and smiled, all was well.

"Where are you from, then?" the boy asked.

"I'm from California," she said as the two companions grew lively with wonder.

"Wow, that's so wicked!" Rose said.

"What a long way away you are," the boy said watching her in wonder.

"…Well my father and I moved to London a few months ago so… I guess it's our new home now," Lola's voice was growing strong again.

The boy and Rose nodded absentmindedly.

"What's your name?" Lola asked the boy.

"Oh," he began, "I'm Al, Al Potter,"

"I'm Lola Harlow," she said and shook hands with both of them. She felt a pang on her heart. It was guilt. She now knew it was not her real last name but her grandmother's maiden one. As far as she knew Jane Harlow and Thomas Marvolo Riddle had never gotten married so it was improper to take his name. It was also a mistake she would not easily fall into. Still, something inside her felt like she was starting the year off lying.

"Sounds like a movie stars name," Rosie chimed in, "have you met any movie stars?"

Before Lola could answer Al scoffed, "just because she is form California doesn't mean she knows every celebrity down the street," he said.

"Oh shut up, Albus, nobody asked for your opinion," Rosie said sticking her tongue out at him.

"My name is Al now, ok?" he said looking perplexed at his cousin.

"Your name is Albus? Like Albus Dumbledore?" Lola asked timidly.

"…well, yeah, but it's kind of a lame name," Al said, dodging eye contact.

"You were named after Albus Dumbledore, you should be proud," Lola said absentmindedly. So Harry Potter had named his son after the grand headmaster.

Al scoffed, "it's just a name…it's not all I am."

A silky silence filled the room.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked us," Rose spoke, looking proud.

"Asked you what?" Lola questioned.

"Come on, Rose, if she hasn't said anything it's because she doesn't know or doesn't care." Al mumbled.

"Asked you what?" Lola repeated with a confused grin.

Just then a loud thud rumbled the door of their compartment. They all turned and saw a boy being slammed against it by older, bigger boys. Without a word all three got up and went to the door. Lola pulled the boy out of their grasp and before the older boys could say a word she pushed them hard and away.

"What's your problem?" she asked as the boys looked perplexed at her show of strength and bravery.

"Yeah, leave the kid alone," Rose chimed in loudly, as if to get everyone on the train's attention, "We just got on the train and you are already going to-"

She stopped mid-sentence. Both she and Al spoke in unison, "James?"

One of the boys Lola had shoved was a redhead with hard, brown eyes. He looked just like Al in his features however. Due to Rose's loudness a bit of a crown was peeking at them all.

"I asked you a question," Lola spoke, since Al and Rose were stunned to silence. The redheaded boy only glared at her and walked away with his buddies. Lola glared back with all the malice she could muster.

"Here, let me help you up," said al as he held out his hand towards the boy on the ground.

"That's alright," the boy muttered in a light and shaken voice. Lola leaned down to meet his eyes which were grey like hers.

"Are you alright?" she asked kindly. The boy only stared at her with a look of awe on his face. A sudden but familiar fear filled Lola. Had someone else recognized the Riddle in her? The boy startled out of his stupor and picked himself up off the ground. The crowd was still eyeing all four of them.

"…thank you," he managed to say through his shattering teeth, "but I had that under control."

Rose rolled her pretty brown eyes, "aren't you terribly grateful."

"I'm Lola, what's your name?" Lola asked before the pale boy or Rose could say anything else.

He hesitated but met her eyes with a slight blush on his pale face, "I'm Scorpius,"

They shook hands and he quivered visibly at her touch. Lola couldn't help but smile at his shyness.

"I'm Al and this is my cousin Rose," Al said and shook his hand. Rose only smiled roughly but politely. They boy muttered almost inaudibly his proper greetings.

"Do you want to come sit with us?" Lola asked, ignoring Rose's big –eyed, head shaking warning.

He stared at Lola for a while, trying to decipher if she was being genuinely kind or deviously cruel but Scorpius could not find a reason to deny her. Curtly he nodded and they all escaped from the staring, curious eyes into the compartment.

Al audibly sighed in relief as he sat back down opposite Lola and Scorpius, "glad to be back here, I thought they were going to burn holes right through me."

Lola laughed but Rose remained quiet and noticeably angry.

"…Try having them attempt it," Scorpius muttered under his breath.

Lola smiled, "ah, so you do talk."

"Attempt what?" Al asked.

"…attempt to actually burn holes right through you, with magic," he finally managed to say.

Al's face looked incredulous, "really?"

"I haven't heard of such a spell," Rose finally chimed in, unable to remain silent for long.

Scorpius cleared his throat but was silenced by Lola's wicked grin. Lola raised her wand at Rose, the first time she had held it since she received it, "Want to see it?"

Rose grew livid quickly and began to gather her things.

"Oh, come on, I was kidding!" Lola said laughing.

"I am going to go see what's wrong with James, good bye," rose said indignantly and left the compartment. Lola turned to Al and the two of them began laughing hysterically.

"Is she?" Scorpius began.

"Always like this? Yes," Al said through giggles, "but that's Rose for you."

"No, well, yes, good to know but I was going to ask if she is related to him." Scorpius soft voice was no longer trembling; his body was still rigid though.

"Yeah, he's my brother, a real git when he wants to be too… I'm sorry, by the way."

"It wasn't your fault," Scorpius said quickly, "it was actually mine for being so bold."

"What do you mean?" Lola asked.

"Well, I'm here. In section C of the Hogwarts express. This is usually where the Gryffindors are."

"Ah the bloody Gryffindors," Al began with a smile on his face, "don't worry about my brother, mate, he's just getting to that undesirable teenager thing. This too shall pass,"

Scorpius smiled for the first time and opened up a book and showed them the spell he had been referencing. Al promised that as soon as he had the chance he would try it on someone. Lola and Scorpius made him promise to aim for someone's robes and not their body. They talked about lots of things and grew excited as the time passed and they neared their new home. All three took turns changing into their robes right there in the compartment for they were so lost in a conversation that neither wanted to leave and miss any of it. A bell sounded about the compartment.

Al and Scorpius smiled at each other.

"We are here, Lola," they said in unison and their smiles grew wider and wicked.

"I know, just because I'm muggle born doesn't mean I don't know these things," she said as she finished fixing up her hair. She had no idea she would be so nervous, "I know… I know." She said again and again as the train slid to a stop. There it was…Hogwarts.

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_So anyone wondering what the hell is wrong with James? Who is cuter, Al or Scorpius? And yeah, Lola is one bad little lady. That's how i like my girls. :)_


	6. Chapter 6: Magic

A jumble of towers and battlements cut across the dimming sky silencing the three riders of the compartment. They stared in wonder and awe at the huge, rambling and quite menacing looking castle. In the fading light they could see large grounds of hills and valleys extending all around the dank and fascinating thing. When they noticed all the other students rushing out of their compartments and out towards the castle they excitedly gathered their things and ran out with them.

The fresh, country air filled Lola's lungs with a sense of anxiousness and suspended adventure. What a sight! Even in her dreams she had mentally gasped at it but to behold it with her own eyes was beyond imaginable. It wasn't something you could ever build. No, Hogwarts, now that she could truly see it, was made of magic the way it spread out along the landscape. As far as she could see the land was lush and green. She knew she was in Scotland and still in the real world as she knew it but the sight of the castle made her feel like she had taken a train towards another dimension!

"Come on, we are going to be late!" Scorpius demanded as he held a boat for her and Al who were still staring at the castle in full enchantment. They snapped out of their embarrassing lulls and went towards the boat.

"Hold on there!" a loud voice boomed followed by a deep, rumbling, hardy chuckle. The ground itself seemed to shake at the sound. Lola and Scorpius looked at each other in shock and then back to see the scrupulous sight of a slightly jollier, slightly older looking Rubeus Hagrid. He was twice as tall as her father and as easily six times as wide as any man Lola had ever seen. In Diagon Alley Lola had run into strange looking creatures but she had seen things like that in movies, hell, she lived in California she had seen things like that on movie sets, but this giant man before her was sensational.

"You're going to be the _only _ones there before anybody else seeing as the rest of your class is waiting patiently over there," he said with a genuine and heartwarming smile on his face. Scorpius mumbled something that sounded a bit like blimey but quickly dropped the boat and stood with, well, behind Lola and Al.

"'ello, Hagrid!" Al called cheerfully. The giant man looked about himself trying to find the voice calling his name. Once he saw Al he uttered a great howl for a greeting and practically crushed him to death and knocked over Lola in the process of a big, strong hug.

Al hugged him back but through his teeth he said, "Oi you don't hug Rose like that,"

"Oh I do, my lad, you just missed it," Hagrid responded fondly after letting the poor Al go, "it's good to see ya. I'm sure looking forward to having the lot of you here."

Al smiled and his vibrant green eyes glistened.

Hagrid turned to the other first years that were indeed waiting patiently in awe of the giant man, "Good afternoon to the rest of ya, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, your Keeper of the Keys, games and grounds, but you all can call me Hagrid. As this is your first year in the most finest of wizarding schools, Hogwarts, you will be entering the castle through these here little boats that will take ya to where you need to be going. They take ten to a boat so don't be over boarding them, there are plenty to go around."

He smiled kindly to all of them and got out of their way. Lola had expected everyone to be scared but they all rushed to the boats, excited and ready. Almost everyone in perfect groups of ten bombarded the boats around them. Lola and Al quickly got into the boat Scorpius had picked before and was now sitting in, waiting for them, before it got filled up.

"What a mad house, isn't it? The way they rush at the boats like animals," Al said as he settled in between Lola and Scorpius with a wide grin on his pale face.

"Oh Al quit your nagging," Lola said as she stared at the wide, black lake before them.

Al sniggered and turned to Scorpius, "poor little Lola probably has no idea what's gonna happen."

"Do to," Lola said.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Al asked wickedly.

Lola almost opened her mouth to tell the tale of how she had dreamt it all. She actually had opened her mouth but the words had luckily not come out.

"…well, I read about it," she managed to say with a smug look on her delicate face.

Al raised an incredulous eyebrow but did not say anything.

Scorpius, however, innocently asked, "Oh, what book was it? I read a couple of them myself in my spare time,"

Lola drew a big, fat blank.

Al teased, his wicked grin renewed, "yeah, Lola, what book was it?"

"..Well…it was _Hogwarts: a History _of course," she said slowly, trying to sound convincing.

Scorpius' eyes lit up, "I read that! Took me a while but I got through it. Fascinating, wasn't it? I read the updated edition, um, I believe it was the 24th one but I'm not sure."

"Whoa," Al said turning his attention towards Scorpius, "mate, settle down, it's a book. You are quite a lively nerd aren't you? Well, that's alright, I'm probably going to need your help a lot this year."

Scorpius sat with his mouth open and his grey eyes searching Al's.

"What?" Al questioned.

"Nothing…it's just no one has ever called me that before…" Scorpius mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Called you what, a nerd?" Al asked.

"No…mate." Scorpius answered. Al's green eyes grew wide but soon focused on the smaller boy by his side. He put his arm around him and Lola and pulled them close.

"Behold, mates, our new home," Al said as the dark silhouette of the school grew upon their horizons. They all grinned now.

"Aren't you three lively," a familiar mocking voice said. They all turned to see Rose watching them with her legs crossed and her hands on her hips.

"hiya, Rosie," Al said, still holding his new friends close to him.

"Albus," she said venomously, "I do hope you know we aren't going to just stroll on in."

"Just say what you are trying to say, Rose," Al said as he rolled his eyes at his cousin.

"Well, rudeness, we are going to be sorted soon," she said with a smug look on her face. Al's face, however, lost its mirth. He almost seemed to double in paleness and he retreated his arms back to his side.

"Why did you have to remind me?" he mumbled as his green eyes got lost in his own, worried thoughts.

"Because," she said haughtily, "I know where I am going to be sorted,"

"Do you now?" Lola asked as she turned her attention back to her friends. Rose's laugh made her stop and turn.

"Oh yes, Lola, I am going to be a glorious Gryffindor like my father and mother before me," she said, looking triumphant.

"…congrats," Lola said as she shook her head and tried again to turn back to her friends.

"Don't use your American lingo on me, Lola. You clearly don't get it," Rose spat.

Lola sighed and turned completely to face Rose. The whole boat watched them, "get what, Rose?"

"I am going to be in the right house while Al is surely going to be placed in Slytherin."

"Rose, come on," Al said, looking grim.

"And what's so wrong with that?" Lola questioned. Rose Weasley was really starting to get on her nerves.

Rose raised a dark red eyebrow, "do you really know nothing, Lola? Our family-"

"Rose," another voice interrupted. Everyone turned to look at a tall boy with dark, curly hair and beautiful hazel eyes. The girls on the boat straightened up and their eyes grew lively at his sight. He sat open legged at the end of the boat with his elbows on his thighs and his hands together, as if in some sort of contemplation, "you don't sound very Gryffindor to me. Unless boastful and pretentious are now red and gold values. It doesn't matter what house you end up in, you are going to have class with other houses so I wouldn't start bad mouthing the others before you are even properly sorted."

"Who asked you?" Rose practically screamed as the boaters tried to stiffen their giggles.

"I'm Nicolas Longbottom Abbot, we've met before but I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you three." He said as he extended his attention to Lola, Scorpius and Al.

"um," Lola said after an uncomfortable silence, "I'm Lola, Lola Harlow,"

"Oh of the West Country Harlow's?" he asked. He was terribly fierce and handsome already. She wondered what he would look like as he grew.

"Uh, no, of the American-used-to-know-nothing-of-magic-muggle-raised Harlow's," she answered. The boy smiled slightly.

"I'm Al," Al said, looking a bit perturbed by the boy's effect on Lola and the rest of the girl's on the boat.

"Nice to meet you both," he said as he turned his lovely eyes on Scorpius, "you must be Scorpius Malfoy."

"….yes, I am." Scorpius managed to say after gulping for a few minutes. Everyone's eyes fell on Scorpius now. Lola felt the instant tension rise.

"…we are going to have a long year ahead of us," the boy named Nicolas said as the boats reached the castle magically rowed closer to the castle. After a long silence the boat began to mumble back to life and soon it was ablaze with conversations and introductions.

"'ello there," an airy yet happy voice called, "my name is May, nice to meet you three." She said as she shook hands with all three of them. Scorpius looked surprised at her touch and politeness. She was a frail girl with big blue eyes and sun kissed alabaster skin. Her hair was a golden blonde which was long and wavy with little twisting curls at the end. There was something so familiar about her to Lola.

"Hiya, May, sorry about that," Al began, "my cousin can get a bit annoying and showy."

"Oh I don't mind, it was quite entertaining actually. I never thought Nicolas would interrupt her like that though."

"Yeah, what's with that guy?" Scorpius piped in. Lola, Al and May all turned to raise an eyebrow in his direction, "well," Scorpius continued, "not that I'm not grateful for him stopping her but he did kind of do it quite rudely. It would have sufficed to tell her to shut it….you know."

"Not with my cousin," Al said, grinning again.

"Well he is the son of Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott, you know, the innkeepers of the leaky cauldron? He's actually twelve years old, no one knows why he entered Hogwarts this year," May said.

They all nodded and wondered. It hit Lola like a sign riding the winds of a hurricane.

"You are Luna Lovegood's daughter," she blurted out loud as her new friends stared at her in confusion. May, however, looked as calm and happy as before.

"Sure am," she answered, "I get asked that a lot."

"She didn't really ask though did she?" Al mumbled as the boats reached castle. Just in time for Lola to avoid his questioning. They all rushed out of the boats and were ushered into a small chamber off the entrance hall. It was dank and truly tiny so all the first years stood shoulder to shoulder awaiting their fate.

"I wouldn't care," May said as they waited.

"Care about what, May?" Al asked.

"What house I was put in," she answered with a smile on her face, "these are different times and although I know there are still rivalries between houses like there is dankness in this tiny little room, I would never take any of that stuff too seriously. We are here to have fun and learn magic! Why trouble ourselves with such spineless actions."

Al looked impressed.

"That was a fancy speech," an accented voice said behind her. They turned to see a matte yet dewy skinned girl with a long black braid coming down to her hip. She had playful, black eyes.

"Oh yes, but I do believe my daddy would hate it if I was in anything but Ravenclaw," an almost identical looking girl next to her said. The only difference between them was that this girl's hair was pinned up in a bun that hardly kept her black locks from escaping.

They introduced themselves as Jasminder and Anjali.

"We are cousins, you see," Jasminder said rather quietly while her twin-like cousin Anjali laughed loudly.

"But," Anjali cut in, "our mother's are twins so we look almost exactly alike."

"Blimey," Al said as he stared at them, "I can hardly tell the difference between you two."

"me either," May chimed in, studying them closely.

"I can," Scorpius mumbled, "…well, when you smile, Anjali, you have dimples on your cheeks."

Anjali smiled and blushed, "How keen of you to notice, Scorpius. Now that name really refuses to roll off the tongue, doesn't it? We will have to give you a nickname."

Her cousin nodded in agreement.

"How can you give me a nickname, you hardly know me?" Scorpius said laughing. He clearly had never been smiled at before today. Before the girls could even begin suggesting two fat and tall boys pushed into their little circle through Scorpius.

"You should probably call him death eater," one of them said. The other one cackled as he pushed Scorpius again. Before anybody could stop him Al took out his wand and dug it into the first boy's fat neck.

"Apologize," Al said, dead serious. The boys weren't laughing anymore.

"Get off me," the fat boy squealed. Al pushed the wand in harder. Lola slowly wrapped her hand around Al's wrist and pulled him and his wand out of the boy's neck before any teachers saw. The boy's ran off through the crowd.

"You really have to stop being so offensive," Lola said, "you are going to get us in trouble before the school year begins."

"us?" Al asked.

"Well, duh, if a brawl had started me and Scorpie would have obviously thrown down too. You think we are going to let you out do us?" Lola answered. Al smirked at her.

"Scorpie? Scorpie! I like it, do you like it, Jasminder?" Anjali asked.

"Oh yes, oh yes, it suits him, it suits him quite well, even his friend says so." Jasminder answered.

They made a strange dubbing gesture, "now you are Scorpie!" they said in unison. Scorpius smiled and nodded, accepting the strange nickname.

"You know," he said as he brushed his robes clean, "you two are going to eventually have to let me fight my own battles."

"Not anytime soon, mate. I like fighting too much to let you get all the glory," Al said as a hush came upon the rest of the class.

The doors before them opened wide revealing the spectacle that was the Great Hall. Tall, stone walls rose to the ceiling, which was covered with floating candles and enchanted to look like the sky outside just like in her dreams. Four, giant, wooden tables filled with curious students in their robes were outdone by the staff table at the front of the hall. The entire staff was there! Some smiling, some impatiently drumming their fingers, but most were just watching them. The highlight of the table was the throne-like chair in the center where the current Headmaster sat. To the left of the table the doors that lead down a spiral staircase to the Trophy Room where also there. It was so surreal to Lola she could hardly believe her own eyes.

The young and familiar looking headmaster ushered them with his index finger to come closer. Lola thought him young because he lacked a glorious, white beard. Instead he was big and burly but fit for a forty something year old man. He wore navy blue robes emblazoned with two crossed, golden bulrushes and a drooping golden hat. Something about him was so familiar to Lola but she could not figure out who he was. As they settled in front of him, the headmaster took a large step to the left, revealing a rickety stool where a patched, frayed and extremely dirty hat sat languidly.

Lola gasped with excitement at the sight of it. There it was, the sorting hat!

"Lola," Scorpius whispered, sounding pained. She turned to look at him but he was bright red with wide, grey eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"You are crushing my wrist," he said slowly. She looked down to see that she had grabbed him out of excitement and was, apparently, crushing his lithe and pale wrist. She smiled nervously and dropped her clutch on him. He returned to his regular color but still seemed stunned by her touch.

Lola looked up to see just as the wide rip on the frayed hat opened and began to sing. Those around her gasped and watched the thing wide eyed with full attention. Lola watched it with a wide grin on her face. There were no illusions. Everything she had ever dreamed, for when she did not dream of this she did not dream at all, had been true. And she would be flying through this school year because she already knew, well mostly, what to expect. Of course she realized that the school could have created some new mysteries since Tom Riddle and Harry Potter had strode through its hallways but nevertheless she knew more than most of the first years around her. And this made Lola Harlow grin.

The hat sang of its function and the values of the four houses of Hogwarts. As it sang Lola considered the houses. First there was Gryffindor, a place for courage, bravery, loyalty, nerve and chivalry. Lola thought herself of having all of these values minus that of Loyalty since she had never had to be loyal to something besides her father. The test of it had never come her way and in her current mindset she thought it a useless value. It would not make her strong but weak. As much as she liked most of the people she was meeting she was convinced that if they found out whose granddaughter she was they would treat her like dirt. Even Al and Scorpius, who were outsiders themselves. This incessant fear would eat her up but she could not easily dismiss it. She knew deep in her heart that there was a great chance of being exposed while those masked people were still at large or even afterwards.

Then there was Hufflepuff, hardworking, tolerant, and loyal as well but big supporters of fair play. Lola definitely believed in hard work and tolerance, she would have never become a surfer if she did not, but again with the loyalty? That was debatable, as was the notion of fair play. Not that Lola liked to cheat but she did not believe in dimming yourself so others could feel better about their shortcomings. She knew it was selfish but that was how she had always been. It was how her father had raised her. If she was going to do anything she was going to do it right and strive to be the best at it too, no matter what.

There was also Ravenclaw which valued intelligence, creativity, learning and wit. All of these values Lola could see herself fitting in with. To her there was nothing like learning, especially about things she found interesting. But now she had the chance to learn in depth about something that she had been denied and Lola was hungry to begin. She liked to think of herself as creative and intelligent. She knew how to talk herself out of grand trouble at least due to her knowledge of people, places and random trivia. It did not due her too well in class but in life it got her straight As.

Lastly, there was Slytherin, a place for ambitious, resourceful, and cunning people who were destined to be great leaders. A bittersweet feeling of awe and trepidation filled Lola every time she thought of it. Here were was numerous dark wizards had emerged from. Here was where her grandfather had reigned. Here was her ancestor's, Salazar Slytherin, domain. She knew she was a parselmouth like they had been. She had had plenty of strange encounters with snakes, but she had never consciously tried it out. Thinking of Slytherin often made her think of all of the history and current drama it created in her life. If she was placed here, and people found out her past, they would surely not believe her an innocent bystander. But still, it was an alluring thought.

Out of all four houses she felt she would be most pleasant in Ravenclaw or Slytherin. But she knew it was not up to her. The sorting hat's song had ended moments ago and the sorting had begun.

"Aabha, Anjali," the headmaster read off of a piece of parchment in a brawn voice.

As if awakened by the sound of her name, a dazed and nervous Anjali took the stage. She placed the hat on her tiny head and after three or four seconds the hat yelled, "This one is for RAVENCLAW!"

The whole room erupted in grand applause; especially those formerly reserved looking Ravenclaws. She looked delighted and relieved as she made her way to their table where she shook hands with older students.

As the other students began to be placed a sudden terror clutched Lola's heart. Her true magical name was Lola Riddle; would they call her as such? Her father had only referred to himself and Lola as surname Harlow but what if by some twisted, horrid magical fate her true name would be used? As the G's finished and the H's began Lola's chest felt so tight that she thought it would cave in. she did not notice she was not breathing until Al nudged her softly.

"Go, they called your name," he whispered.

"…Harlow, Lola," the headmaster repeated as his dark eyes searched the crowd.

She timidly walked out of it and made her way towards the hat and stool. This was it. She placed the dirty hat on her head. _How scrupulously interesting, _she heard a voice think in her own head, _one of Salazar blood but borne of a muggle. It always shocks me when you rare mixed bloods come along, especially that from the Salazar line itself. _

"Try to keep that to yourself, will you?" Lola whispered as she eyed the whole room that watched her; waiting. _Fiery, aren't you, _the hat's voice said as it rumbled on her head from laughing, _you would do well in _SLYTHERIN!

It yelled and the room erupted in applause again. She had been the second in her year to be sent to the Slytherin table. As she made her way down there, sighing an unexpected relief, she wondered if the hat had been speaking out loud that whole time. Many welcomed her with open arms and warm handshakes but some on the table gave her strange looks. She knew why. They thought she was muggle born. Technically she was, her father had not ever studied magic and was no wizard and her mother was a muggle but in her veins ran the blood of some of the most powerful wizards to ever walk the earth, and she knew she was sitting in the right place.

"Longbottom, Nicolas," the headmaster said with a joyous tone. A smiling Nicolas made his way up to the stool. He waved at his father who sat looking quite proud on the staff table. The hat took a few moments before announcing, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The room was ablaze with shouts and wallops from the Gryffindor table as it welcomed their newest member.

"They are only cheering like that because he is the son of a celebrity," A brown haired girl sitting next to Lola commented.

"Yeah, wait till they get to the Potters and the Weasleys, then we will be deaf," a handsome but frail black haired boy commented. Those around them sniggered.

"Malfoy, Scorpius," the headmaster called. The room got deathly quiet. Scorpius quickly made his way up to the stool and practically pulled his whole, tiny head into the patched hat. Lola was half expecting it to yell Slytherin instantly just like it had with Malfoy senior but instead it deliberated for almost five minutes. Lola could see Scorpius was whispering to the hat just as she had done.

Suddenly the hat's tear opened wide with a grin and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Lola jumped for joy while the rest of the room and most of the Slytherin table politely clapped but rolled their eyes and gossiped. The headmaster cleared his throat and silence reigned yet again as he continued down the line. Lola gave Scorpius a grand, congratulatory hug and kissed him on the cheek as he sat down next to her. He had been smiling before but now he was beaming and turning red. Al eyed them.

"How wonderful, we are in the same house!" Lola exclaimed.

"I know, for a second there I really thought I was going to be placed in Ravenclaw. Not that I would have minded but they seem a bit anti social and I get enough of that," Scorpius said laughing. He was glowing with pride.

"Now if only Al could join us, he seems like a cunning leader," Lola mused.

"He _is_ a Potter and a Weasley though. I've only heard of two Weasleys ever being in anything but Gryffindor and those were his cousins, Molly and Lucy, but they are in Ravenclaw," Scorpius commented.

"Oh, Scorpie, have a little faith," Lola said as she continued to watch the sorting.

"Nova, Jasminder," the headmaster called. Jasminder nervously made her way to the hat and it instantly shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

Her cousin Anjali jumped so high in joy that Lola could swear she had flown for a moment.

"Hey, Scorpie, who is our headmaster?" Lola asked.

"…I knew you hadn't read _Hogwarts: a History,_" Scorpius said as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Why, was he in there?" Lola asked; who was that man?

"Of course he was, he was one of Hogwarts finest athletes, teachers and now a very prominent headmaster,"

"Scorpie, who is it?!" Lola begged.

"Will you stop calling me Scorpie?" Scorpius questioned with a smug look on his face. Lola furrowed her eyebrows but nodded.

Scorpius smiled in success, "That is Headmaster Wood; he is one of the youngest teachers to ever be granted the honor of being headmaster. It was a huge deal a few years ago actually."

Oliver Wood, that was who he was! The young keeper had grown up to be a quite successful and handsome teacher and now a headmaster. Lola made a mental note to learn more about the supposed controversial decision.

"Potter, Albus," Headmaster Wood called. The room went completely silent again. Unlike Scorpius, the hat took but one minute to decide. Al only whispered one inaudible sentence to it.

And then the hat bellowed, "This will be an interesting SLYTHERIN!"

Instead of applause most of the room was in visible shock. But the Slytherin table, including the brown haired girl and raven haired boy from earlier jumped for joy and hollered as a grinning Al made his way towards a satisfied Lola and a shocked Scorpius.

"I really thought they were going to place you in Gryffindor…mate," Scorpius said as he congratulated Al.

"I know me too, but the hat knew me well, it did. Took its blasted time though, didn't it?" Al said as his mirthful green eyes turned to Lola, "you happy? Now you are stuck with us."

"You are the one who should be happy, now you have me and Scorpius to bum off on," Lola said with a wicked smile. Al nodded and sat between Lola and Scorpius.

"So we aren't calling him Scorpie anymore, eh?" Al asked.

"Nope, it's kind of annoying ain't it? Sounds like a dog name," Lola said.

"I really love how you guys talk about me like I'm not here," Scorpius said as he opened up a book and began flipping through the pages. Al closed it and wrapped and arm around both of them and turned their attention back to the sorting.

"Scamander, May," headmaster Wood called.

Practically skipping she made her way to the hat which instantly shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The room applauded but Lola sighed, "man, I really liked her,"

"I like her too and we will still see her around," Scorpius said, looking hopeful.

"Yeah, seriously Lola, you are shooting to high," Al joked as the headmaster continued.

"Thomas, Fioreli," he called. A very dark and very tall, lanky boy made his way up to the stool and hat. As he sat down Lola realized he had lime green eyes.

After a few moments the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone hollered and shouted in approval. The brown haired girl scoffed. Lola wanted to turn around and tell her to shove it where the sun didn't shine but she thought it inappropriate and an ill-conceived move seeing as how she should lay low. However, Al turned around and raised an eyebrow her direction. She noticed him and instantly started explaining.

"Well they are only cheering because he is the son of Dean Thomas," she said looking self righteous and assertive.

Al scoffed now, "I saw you cheering pretty loudly for me," he said with a sly look on his face.

The girl looked shocked at his behavior and it took both Lola and Scorpius, who were both trying to stifle their laughter, dragging him back to the sorting ceremony for al to leave the girl alone.

"Really, Al?" Scorpius asked.

"No one deserves that," Al said, serious, as he truly turned his attention back to the ceremony. Lola and Scorpius eyed each other but did not say a word.

"Weasley, Rose," Headmaster Wood called, she was the last on the list.

Rose swallowed but straightened up and put on a calm face as she made her way to the stool and hat. This time, Lola, Al and Scorpius watched intently.

"It would be a never ending nightmare if she was put in Slytherin for being so ambitious," Al said.

"It would only be worse if she was placed in Gryffindor," Lola said. Scorpius watched quietly.

The hat deliberated for what seemed like three or four minutes before screaming, "Let it be HUFFLEPUFF!"

The room exploded in applause. Rose did not seem disappointed as she joined the Hufflepuff table. It seemed the sorting hat had talked some sense into her. Headmaster Wood smiled as he surveyed the students before him.

"Let's have a warm, welcoming applause for all our new students," he said and all four tables broke out in happy applause. He wrapped his strong fingers on the edges of the podium before speaking.

"Each and every one of you is a gift upon your respective houses and should always remember to represent your house like you would your own family. For, look around you, go ahead, look…these people are going to be you brothers and sisters in tough and stressful times. But I wouldn't count on them for mentors; it is every year for itself, isn't it?"

The students laughed.

Headmaster Wood smiled generously, "I would like to announce some changes to the staff this term. We will have Professor Charbonnet Bloom will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,"

A very young looking man smiled brilliantly and waved at the students. Through his soft sand colored locks Lola could see vibrant brown eyes. He was far too young looking to be a professor, especially one of defense against the dark arts. He wore dark brown leather boots and a tan ensemble which included a long cape that was fastened with the same brown leather that held his boots and his belt together. Lola had never seen someone look so confident and regal. And it was so easily done. As with Nicolas, now almost every girl sighed with affection at Professor Bloom.

"Also I would like to remind certain students," Headmaster said, looking right at James Potter and his friends, "and tell our first years that the forest, conveniently known as the Forbidden forest is indeed forbidden from students, as is the Black Lake, so those who think a late night swim to be romantic," said the headmaster, looking right towards Jove from the magic wand store and a blonde older girl with a bun in Slytherin, "rethink your decisions."

"Victoire told me that story," Al said sniggering, "seems that good ol' Leslie LaRuse was caught running from the Black Lake in her knickers with a half naked Jove Goldstorm right behind her, both of them soaking wet and looking terrified. Guess the mer-people weren't too keen on letting them snog and who knows what else in their loch."

Scorpius was bright red in his attempt to hold in a fit of laughter, "but she is a sixth year student, what is she doing running around with a fourth year?"

"Technically she was a fifth year and he a third when this all happened. Scandalous, isn't it?" Al said, trying to avoid eye contact with the glaring couple who had noticed their laughter.

"You two put to shame old gossiping ladies with your pointless stories," Lola said as she watched Professor Bloom, who was intently watching Headmaster Wood speak. He sat with his right leg crossed upon the other and his head on his right fist whose elegant arm rested on his knee from his elbow. He did not look real, like a figure from a more sophisticated time. He was far too classical looking to be appropriate where he sat. Lola was too young for boys, this she knew well, but she could not help but see that Professor Bloom was indeed a gallant creature, and every other woman in the room seemed to agree.

"Did she just call us old ladies?" Al asked mockingly.

"I believe she did, mate," Scorpius answered.

"Shush, I'm trying to listen," Lola said, they sure were prone to pestering those two.

"Right, you are just trying to get a good look at the newest eye candy," Al said.

"Is that some sort of new treat you digest through your eye?" Scorpius asked.

"No dummy that's muggle talk for the new Gilderoy Lockhart over there," Al said pointing. Lola tried to make al put his hand down but it was too late. Professor Bloom had already noticed them. Lola couldn't help but look horrified when she locked eyes with the curious teacher who only smiled and nodded in their direction. Lola quickly averted her eyes and could feel her cheeks grow warm with blush and embarrassment. She was lucky she was tanned skin and her blushing usually could easily go unnoticed and therefore not made fun of.

"In closing," Headmaster Wood said, "I wish you all the greatest year and may your achievements this term get you closer to your destinies."

After a few seconds everyone began to clap and cheer. It seemed everyone had dazed or had been distracted.

The Headmaster, however, did not seem to notice and was still smiling warmly, "now, on to the feast!" he said and on their table plates of honey smoked ham and pasta appeared upon the many great foods and choices. She knew how they had been made and how it happened but to see mountains of delicious and appetizing morsels spring out of the air itself was the icing on the cake of her day. Out of the corner of her grey eye she felt someone's stare on her. She turned to look right into the mean hazel glare of her least promising encounter of the day: James Sirius Potter. He glared at her without restraint and without Al noticing the back of Scorpius' head. Lola felt like glaring back but she lacked the will to do it. Instead she turned back to her food and ate joyously with her two new friends and housemates Al and Scorpius.


	7. Chapter 7: Sick

_So i thought I'd finally answer some of those questions :) If Alexander or Lola's handwriting is hard to read just let me know and i will change it. their letters will become an important aspect of this story._

* * *

The first day of classes was like whirlwind spiraling down to one moment. The rest of the first night had been but a blur to Lola. She, Al, Scorpius and the rest of Slytherin had been taken down to the former dungeon where their rooms awaited them. They had all been placed in different rooms with four random strangers for each of them to get to know. Lola was placed with for plain looking girls who spent the whole night gossiping about everything.

The morning of the first day of classes was just images to her too. She had awoken early to take a walk around the castle in which she thoroughly explored as much as first years were allowed to explore. Later she had planned to take Al and Scorpius to explore other parts of the castle. As she had made her way to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall there sat Scorpius reading a book and a fumbling and half asleep Al. Scorpius had already been waiting for her for a while since they shared a late morning early afternoon double Potions lesson but Al had just awoken and was already five minutes late to his first class. She had asked why they had waited for her and they both replied with exasperated hungry looks.

After potions Lola had a break and ate a snack and read one of the two letters she had received from Lily Beau that morning. It had been from her father. She planned to write him back and read Alexander Sweyn's letter and part progress report on her case that evening after her first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. She entered the room with Al and Scorpius by her side but sat was seated with Rose instead of any of her friends. They both sort of ignored each other and were politely curt since they did not want to give Professor Bloom, who looked dashing in a blue suit, the wrong impression. Al had been partnered with Fioreli Thomas and Scorpius with Jasminder Nova. Nicolas Longbottom was there too and he was sat with May Scamander. Anjali Aabha sat gossiping with some Ravenclaw girl Lola had not recognized.

He had taught them an introductory lesson on what to do when confronted with a confunded Thersal. He had focused on how to stun and not hurt the animal and since most in the class had no idea what a Thersal looked like, he drew diagrams on their great and strange appearance. Lola should have noticed the implication of his having seen death before, or that he captivated most every student in the classroom, but all she noticed was his thick, lovely, French accent. At the end he opened up time for discussion and any questions the students had on the lesson. But most just asked about his personal life.

"Where are you from?" Anjali had asked all smiles and twinkling black eyes.

"I am from Echevenex, France and am indeed an alumnus of Beaubaxtons Academy." Professor Bloom had answered with a gracious smile.

"What did you do before this?" Nicolas had asked, standing tall and lifting his small chin ever so high into the air.

"I was training to be a teacher in Paris; it is an honour to work here," Professor Bloom responded while running a graceful through his sandy looking hair.

"What's your favorite Quidditch team?" May had asked looking curious and rosy cheeked.

"Oh I do not want to start riots on my first day of classes, Miss Scamander, but I do enjoy the local teams very much so. But do not tell the Headmaster, as far as he is concerned I only have eyes for Puddlemere United," He had answered sweetly with his hand scratching the back on his head nervously, making him look ever more boyish.

Lola hesitantly raised her arm in the air. Rose eyed her but did not make any comment or noise.

"Yes?" Professor Bloom pointed in her direction.

"…Professor…um, why are you here of all places?" she had managed to blurt out. As soon as the question escaped her lips a look of vulnerable surprise filled the professor's chocolate brown eyes but was soon replaced with their usual mirth.

"What ever do you mean?" He asked in return. The class was quietly awaiting her answer.

Lola gulped and focused, "I meant, well, out of all the places to teach like even your own school Beaubaxtons or somewhere closer to your home why here?"

He seemed lost in a warm memory of his homeland when he finally spoke, "…I never thought a more interesting place to teach than Hogwarts, Miss Harlow. Growing up you hear stories about this place, I myself lived through one of its darkest moments. But I was in France when it happened and barely older than seven or eight years old," his face seemed to grow a bit tight at this thought and he quickly dismissed it, "Anyway, my point is I am here to witness history in its making with my own eyes. Not that I hope anything dramatic or dreadful would befall any of you, I know many of us lost family and loved ones during those dark times but I do hope to gain some sort of ethereal wisdom from my time here. Good question," he finished with a wicked wink and a sideways smile. Lola's stomach practically was rolling over at the sight of him.

But it was when class was over and they were leaving that his light tap on her shoulder caught her attention for always.

"Miss Harlow," Professor Bloom said as she turned around to see his beautiful face only a few spaces away from her own.

"Yes, professor?" She sounded like such a dork saying things like that.

"You know you caught me off guard for a moment there," he said, fiddling with some tiny little parchment ball that he had picked up off the floor. Earlier Al had thrown it at Scorpius trying to get his attention for some silly joke.

"…sorry," Lola said.

"No, please, do not apologize I…I actually enjoyed it a bit, being put to think, I will see you tomorrow for class. You have a nice evening then," Professor Bloom said, discarding of the tiny ball of parchment in the waste bin behind her.

"…right," she managed to say before bolting out of the room. Professor Bloom watched her go with an all too certain smile on his face that only confirmed his awareness of his own effects.

Lola met up with Al and Scorpius who had been waiting right outside in the hallway.

"So did dreamboat over there sweep you off your feet too? Blimey girls are so easy," Al teased.

"Shut up," Lola said.

"If you ask me I think he is rather creepy talking to you like that," Scorpius opinionated.

"Shut up," Lola said.

"She isn't asking you, Scorpius, she is too busy daydreaming about Professor _Bloomy_," Al said and did a pompous pose as he said the professor's name. Scorpius smiled.

"Shut up," Lola said as they reached the Great Hall where mostly everyone was feasting already. Before they could sit down May, Anjali and Jasminder bombarded the group of them with questions about Professor Bloom.

"What did he say to you?" Anjali asked.

"He sure is dreamy; do you think he is married?" May asked.

"Dreamy yes but so educated and worldly too, I've always wanted to go to France. Have you ever been, Lola?" Jasminder questioned.

"Blimey," Al said as he and Scorpius sat down. Lola smiled at her girl friends but stepped away from them and sat down with her boys.

"They are acting like you are his girlfriend or favorite student or something," Scorpius complained.

"They are just curious," Lola mentioned as she dug into her chicken cordon bleu.

"You talked to him for a bleeding second; they expect you to know all about him then? I'm telling you this day has done nothing but confirm my suspicions that every other house is mental." Al said matter-of-factly.

"Oh really, how so?" Scorpius asked as he sipped on some tomato soup.

"Well, first of all the bloody tourist ladies half a second ago with their three million questions, my brother's incessant whining about how I should be in Gryffindor for no bloody reason than that our father would be disappointed. Like hell he would, if anything he'd be relieved I'm out of James' grasp. Then Fioreli, or should I say, _Fiore,_ as he prefers to be called, obsession with perfection. He is meticulous and controlling. Remember how I defended him? I take that back, man, he is a total headache," al finished holding his head in his hands.

"I hear you, man, I like Jasminder and all but gosh can she talk my ear off. And never anything interesting, just about how the professor's hair looks in the sunlight or some story about how she saw him and said hi," Scorpius said as he broke a piece of garlic bread and ate it.

"It was funny though watching Nicolas Longbottom trying to be a big, strong man in from of May, or was I the only one that noticed that?" Lola commented as she finished her German chocolate cake.

"Yeah I noticed it but I think he tries to be like that around everyone," Scorpius said as he chewed down his last piece of bread and proceeded to lick his fingers.

"Ew," Al said and practically threw a napkin at him, "so now complaints about my cousin then, Lola?"

"…well, no actually, we work pretty well together," Lola said honestly.

"Bollocks," Scorpius said, "there's no way you guys can work well together when she keeps giving us all death glares every time we pass her in the hallway,"

"Well she is pretty well behaved in class and I have been getting less and less death glares, maybe that Hufflepuff tolerance is coming out," Lola commented as she finished her coffee.

"Or she is plotting," Al said and they all laughed hardily. But Lola could not help but think of the strange way Professor Bloom had made her feel. She did not want to talk about it with the boys because she knew they would only make fun of her but she knew she could not talk about it with Jasminder, Anjali or May either. Yes, she thought she had a young girl's crush on him but something about him also made her nervous in a peculiarly, ominous way.

* * *

Tom Riddle was becoming something more than human. He had felt it the first time he had done it that Autumn night during his useless school years. And he could feel it now as his mother's ring on his finger glistened with a piece of his soul trapped inside it. He was bright with glee. Now he had but one more task for this night. He was to meet with the LeStranges for some tedious demanding at the ball they had invited him to in London. Many a dark wizards were expected to be there and they insisted he come and be honored. Since he already planned to have a discussion with Bellatrix and her futile husband he decided he would go to the haughty thing.

Not that Tom did not like being groveled over, but the dinner party seemed to get in the way of his transformation. Besides, whenever he performed his ritual he afterwards felt very weak and vulnerable and he did not want to seem any of those to his dark contemporaries. He wanted to be seen as extraordinary. Dressed in his dark suit Tom apparated to the desperate scene. Instantly Bellatrix left her husband's side and began fawning over him. She was young and recently married but her obsession with him, although flattering, was mostly annoying. In the back of his vulnerable mind he felt himself growing desperate for company and even an unequal like Bellatrix would do. But he dismissed the foolish thought. To sleep with a crazed fan was to ask to be stalked.

Besides, he had no equal. He hated feeling so exposed to regular human weaknesses. Usually, he was disciplined to the point that he had convinced himself he was beyond human folly. But after the ritual he was completely susceptible to it. He knew it would lessen more every time his soul was split but right now it was suffocating him. Without saying a word to his followers he traveled to the porch of the building they were in. London was dying down into sleepy scenery. How he loathed the worthless muggles that went on their uneventful ways through the dirty city. He was getting ready to hex one when he looked across to the building in front of the one he was in. There, a familiar woman stood stooping on her porch railing, watching him with curious blue eyes.

They were about a room's width away from each other.

"What could you possibly be gawking at?" Tom riddle found himself asking. With anyone else he would usually hex them to make them stop staring but there was something different about this muggle. Instead of saying some smart comment like he had expected her to, Jane Harlow, as he had come to know her, watched him, her blue eyes twinkling like the distant night stars. Her black hair was pinned up and she wore a long, black, satin gown that accentuated her graceful figure.

Tom scoffed, "you don't remember me, do you?"

"Oh no, I do," she said in a soft, clam voice, "I'm just wondering what you are doing with that stick?"

Tom looked down to see his yew wand in his hand. He gripped it tightly, "well, I was going to hex that man,"

Her soft face did not change from its curious expression, "Were you now? I'm sorry for interrupting. Does that mean you are some sort of magician or voodoo man?"

Tom watched her very carefully. When he had first met her he had been sure she was a muggle. But the way she spoke and showed no fear or disturbance troubled him in a way he certainly did not like.

"I'm a wizard, I'm actually a quite famous one actually," Tom said. Jane raised an incredulous eyebrow but said nothing for a while. She looked at him and at the people below them watching the street for a good while. They were almost forty feet off the ground.

"So what would you do," she said as she slipped over her railing and leaned forward a bit while holding on to it with black silky gloved hands, "if I let go?"

Now Tom watched her incredulously, "Do you fancy I'll save you?"

"Aren't you a magic man, Tom Riddle?" she questioned with her jaded, blue eyes watching the street below and between them.

"Not the saving kind," Tom said, putting his wand away securely in his dark suit, "I'm more of a destroyer,"

"then you should kill that bastard Bill Bellary," she said as she leaned more forward, her satin dress shimmered in the night breeze.

"Besides being a muggle what is his crime?" Tom asked. He did not know why he continued this conversation. He wanted nothing more for Jane Harlow to throw herself off the building and with her die his strange attraction to her, but for some reason he found her more interesting than the party below.

Jane smiled like the Mona Lisa, "ah, that bastard is my ex-fiancé, he just left me, and you should destroy him. Yep, he got me all dressed up to tell me I was too much 'trouble' for him and his gaudy family. I spent two years waiting for that indecisive man to marry me…"

"is that what you have been doing?" Tom said. She looked up and smiled.

"you've been waiting for me, haven't you? Just like that night we met," she said, swaying back and forth, her railing was creaking.

"We both know you aren't going to do it so just go back inside to your muggle party and stop wasting my time," Tom managed to say. He hated feeling so vulnerable and human.

"You look terrible! Whoever is stressing you," Jane said, ignoring him, "you should get them out of your life. they are making you grey,"

"well, seeing as how that is currently you," Tom said flipping over his own railing. Jane laughed starkly against the dark night.

"Ha! Like you would ever jump, you've got too much to live for. This I remember well. You are the one to live forever, yes indeed," she said giggling to herself solemnly.

"I already found out how to, this railing doesn't scare me. Nothing does," Tom said, enjoying the breeze.

"I do," she said quietly.

"you do not,"

"yes I do, I don't think your party members would very much like me making you swing over the railing with me, especially with your shiny, black, slippery shoes," Jane said watching him. Her blue eyes were darting into him.

"no, I don't think they would like that very much either. But your party would be much more disappointed than mine,"

"oh, how so?"

Tom thought for a moment…what would a muggle say in this situation?

"Well, then Bill Bellary would win, wouldn't he?"

"…that doesn't even begin to make sense. You've no idea what kind of man Bill is,"

"Well, he is clearly a fool, and fools all think the same. Now go back inside and dance with some handsome, young men and enjoy your life while you still can," he said as he flipped back over his railing.

"Before you take it over?" she asked.

Tom turned fiercely to face her, his wand ready to destroy, but she was gone. A sudden emptiness filled him and he quickly looked down to the street. There was no commotion or broken body. He looked back into her party where he saw a satin black clad figure get her fur coat and leave. He apparated down to the front of her building, waiting impatiently and angry. She came out and gasped at the sight of him.

"I was not done talking," Tom said.

Jane looked from him to where he had been at his railing and laughed mirthlessly, "you really are a magician. Well sorry, Tom, it is a rather dull and eventful night and I want nothing but to forget about Bill and his friends and lose myself in sleep, goodnight."

She started to stride away, her heels clicking on the cobblestone below, when Tom Riddle grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her back into her party.

"What are you doing?" she questioned as she tried to free herself from his grasp.

"What you should have done when I told you to do it," he said as he ripped off her coat, spun her around and began waltzing with her all in one, fluid, easy motion. At first Jane was flabbergasted by his actions but soon couldn't help but slightly smile. Everyone was watching them, including Bill Bellary. Tom had made sure he was watching.

"you must be an expert in that," she said, slightly blushing at all the attention.

"at what?" Tom said as he focused on her and her alone. She was a good dancer.

"At ripping off clothes," she said as she pulled him into a sweet kiss. This time Tom did not pull away. Instead he sunk deep into her warm and inviting embrace. He had kissed girls before. He had been with girls before. But he had never wanted to kiss a girl like he wanted to kiss Jane Harlow at that moment. And he did. He kissed her deeply and passionately. He liked how he could be forceful with her and even how she was more forceful with him. It was always a battle between them and he liked how resilient she was. Her young, fit body against his was more than enough for his vulnerable mind and he swiftly took her in his arms and left for her apartment in the city.

* * *

Her dreams were lessening in vividness but were still frequent to her. Not as frequent as she was used to but when she did not dream of Tom Riddle she did not dream at all, only slept. Lola was secretly hoping her stop in medication would destroy the dreams but she knew deep inside that these dreams were being caused by _something _else. It was, however, refreshing not having to take the large pills and she no longer woke up crying or in a strange fit of unrequited anger as she was prone to in the past. This was fantastic news since Lola did not think explaining these things to her roommates would have gone too well.

Also, her body felt better. She was no longer restrained. She could feel the magic flowing from her soul to the tip of her white wand when performing simple charms and incantations. Having never felt such energy flow she was incredibly sensitive to it and it seemed like Hogwarts itself responded to her heightened sense of magic. Sometimes when she would walk alone through the castle corridors restricted sections would conveniently open just for her and when she did take them they led her to shortcuts and barely traveled through alleyways that were wonderful places to study. Lola hated studying in the dungeon since she was highly susceptible to the sickness-causing dankness.

Finding her way to one of the forgotten and forbidden corridors, Lola planned the rest of her evening. She had two letters to write, one for her father and one for Alexander Sweyn which she would deliver later to the Owlery. She was also to study for her herbology quiz that Friday in which Professor Longbottom, Nicolas's goofy and incredibly sweet father had given her and the rest of the class a review sheet for. She had also taken with her the green journal in which all she had previously known about Tom Riddle was sketched and mentioned. Dug in there was also Jane Harlow's picture and obituary.

Lola could not bear the fact that everyone around her knew more about Tom Riddle than she did. He had been a ruthless and evil tyrant but she still wanted to know all she could. Earlier that day she had traveled to the school's library trying to find anything she could on him but most were just one paragraph snippets on his reign and its end. Lola wanted to know of Tom's life in Hogwarts. What had driven him to madness? She knew it was incredibly morbid, but nobody had to know. It was her right as his descendent and if he had known she and her father continued his line, well, he would have liked her to know too. This reasoning relieved her confused mind.

Finally, she slipped through the unlocked corridor and headed up the spiral and steep staircase of a forgotten tower. Dimly lit, she often took this time to lose herself in thought. But all of today she had been lost in her own mind, questioning her ethics and morbid curiosities. Now she only climbed the stair silently, reaching the sun-lit top. It was an open, circular courtyard with a silent and empty bell section in the middle surrounded by many broken-down cement benches. A thin and short railing running up to about her knee encircled the edges of the courtyard and when the sun settled, floating lamps would light up un-commanded to illuminate her night.

It was still and peaceful here, so she often came to be alone. She took out her parchment and pen that she had brought with her and began to write.

_Daddy,_

_Can you believe they make us write with quills and ink here! It is madness. I almost got my pen confiscated because I kept messing up all the papers I tried to write with their stupid quills. Well, I am sure you are wondering so I will just tell you, I am in Slytherin. It is actually a lot of fun and I already have great friends so please do not bother worrying. _

_I want to know all about your job! What are you doing, who are you working with? Will I ever get to see you? My friend, Scorpius, he told me that parents are not allowed to visit while school is in session but that we do get to go home during many holidays like Christmas, Easter and other holidays like that. _

_You asked me what using magic was like and I have been wondering how to explain it to you for days now. All I have come up with is it feels like something flowing right out of you. It goes through your brain through your vein, the sinew of your muscles, the marrow of your bone, it is just everywhere and you can feel it. It is not a tingling thing just a flowing sort of feel. _

_Harry Potter's kids and all his friend's kids go to school with me. I am friends with his son, Al, but I have not met him or anything, Harry Potter that is. I kind of do not want to. I know he knows who we are because Al told me he is the head of the auror department in the ministry of magic. That means he is Sir Hotspur and Alexander's boss. Hopefully I will not have to see him._

_I miss you a lot, daddy. It is so weird not having you around to fight and play with. Write to me as soon as you can, ok? _

_Love you with all of my heart,_

_Lola_

She sealed up the letter quickly before she kept pouring her heart into it. She felt her heart grow heavy with sadness but she knew that they both needed her to be strong right now. If she gave in to the sadness so would her father. She swiftly opened Alexander's letter and began to read it so she could forget about her own feelings.

_Lola,_

_Status Report: Sir Hotspur and I have been working extensively in trying to put a list together of possible suspects from our databases. We will have the list, which will include the suspect's name and picture, ready and sent to you by my next letter. When you have time go alone to an uninhabited part of the castle and review the list. Tell us if you recognize any of the vigilantes who attacked you in your mother's house. I know this will be difficult since they were wearing possible death eater masks but this is just part of our investigation. Anything you can recognize from these suspect, a birth mark, a scar, anything, would be useful. Send it back at midnight while no one is around._

_Anyway, now that all of that has been said, tell me about school. I heard you were admitted to Slytherin, congratulations! If you are wondering who told me it was Headmaster Wood. If you remember he is the one person who has been informed of you family history and situation. This was done so we could have a contact of trust in the school itself and so you could have someone to confide in. He might seem a rough man but Headmaster Wood is a fine example of a proper leader. Well, now it seems I am babbling about nothing. Let's see, have you made any new friends? Or any interesting enemies? What's your favorite class? Mine was always defense against the dark arts but my teacher, Professor Dandridge unfortunately passed away in the beginning of summer. Tell me about the new DADA professor. I have been told he is quite handsome and mysterious. By the way, headmaster Wood did not tell me that it was my friends in their 7th year. Well, here I go babbling again! I cannot wait to hear from you!_

_Sincerely,_

_Alexander Sweyn_

Lola found that as she read the letter she could hear Alexander's voice switch from professional to casual. He really was a bit of a rambler. She smoothed out a parchment and began to write him back.

_Alexander,_

_You rambling buffoon! I do quite enjoy your status and regular reports though. I will do just as you asked and look forward to the list. It would be nice to put a name to the image and get this all over with so I can stop being so scared. In all honesty I find myself constantly worried people will find out my heritage. They already treat the kids of former death eaters like vermin; imagine what they would do to me? I do not even want to think about it. Anyway, yes, Slytherin is actually rather fantastic. I am really happy to be here. I am making friends and enemies. But mostly friends so do not worry. I like all my classes, yes, I know, I am a loser but it is all so exciting! I'm sorry to hear about your professor but if it makes you feel better no one really gets her replacement. His name is Charbonnet Bloom. He is handsome and charming but very mysterious. The other day I overheard professor Knightley, you know the charms teacher? Well I overheard her saying that he eats lunch by himself and never talks to anyone unless spoken to. Strange, huh? Anyway, how did your professor die if you don't mind my asking? Everyone seemed shocked when Headmaster Wood announced professor Bloom as the new DADA teacher._

_Anyway, if we are going to be writing to each other I want to know how you are too. How are you feeling? Are you sleeping? I know this is your first case but if you do not sleep I will be very angry with you. Lily Beau is doing well, I think you are right, she does seem happier here than in London. How is Sir Hotspur? I cannot wait to hear from you._

_Your Friend,_

_Lola_

She happily sealed up this letter and put it with her father's next to her green notebook. She studied until the sunset reminded her she had to get the letters to the Owlery before nightfall. Luckily she had found a quick shortcut there days ago and headed there now with all her books in hand. Walking swiftly and paying little attention to her surroundings she knocked into a bright red James Potter. Both their books were knocked out of their arms by the force of the impact.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he questioned as he picked up her things.

"Going to the Owlery, I thought nobody knew this passage," Lola said, attempting to pick up his things to be polite. But she really was hoping she had ruined some of them.

"Nobody does…very few people do, who told you?" he asked, handing her back her things and ripping his own things out of her hands.

"Nobody told me, I found it myself," she said, hands on her hips.

James laughed mockingly, "really now, who told you,"

"I said I found it myself, or are you mean and deaf too?" Lola said.

James stopped what he was doing and stood up quickly but only glared, twisting his hands into firm fists.

"What the bloody hell is your problem, girly?" he asked.

"You are the one that is always glaring at me and bothering Scorpius,"

"That was once," he said defensively and turned back to picking up his things. He seemed to be looking for something he had dropped.

"Yeah, well it better not happen again," Lola threatened.

James snorted, "What are you going to do about it?"

"…what is this?" Lola asked as she stared at a strange parchment that showed a map of Hogwarts that showed little footsteps with names scribbled next to them. In their hallway there were two names: James Sirius Potter and Lola R-

"Hey, give me that!" he said as he snatched it from her hands.

"Oh my god, that's the Marauder's-"

James had pinned her up against the wall and had put his hand over her mouth all in one swift motion.

"How did you know that?" he asked viciously. Lola kicked him hard in the shin and he let her go.

"What does it matter, you freak? Damn, it is just a map I wasn't going to tell on you or anything," Lola managed to say through her shock at his quick movements. Had the map said Lola Riddle?

"You know all these _things _about my family, things my father has not ever told me or Albus, I know, Albus has told me. Now, I will ask you again, how did you know what this was?"

"Al would never," Lola said, trying to take the marauder's map from him.

"You freak us out, Lola! You say things about our parents like you knew them. Don't blame Albus he was only confiding to his older brother. How do you know these things?" James commanded.

Lola gathered her things and attempted to leave. James grabbed her by the arm and twisted her around to face him.

"Let go of me, have you lost your damn mind?" Lola screamed as a sudden lightheadedness came over her. Instead of James holding her Tom Riddle stood before her just as he had looked when he last saw Jane Harlow. That was all Lola saw before everything went black.

* * *

_hmmmm, a mysterious ending. I decided to make James a more interesting character. he is just too juicy to pass up. review!!!!!_


	8. Chapter 8: James Potter smiles

_alright as usual most of these characters don't belong to me but harry potter world belong to miss rowling. ummmmmmmmmmm PLEASE REVIEW! i'm running out of ideas, people!_

* * *

Lola awoke in the infirmary alone and in the middle of the night. She tried to remember what had happened but her head hurt too much to think at all. Slowly she lifted herself of the bed and tried to leave the infirmary when Madame Pomfrey appeared. She escorted her back to her bed and told her she had been brought in by James Potter who said she had passed out mysteriously.

" Honestly, with the way he looked I thought he had accidentally hexed you himself," Madame Pomfrey said as she poured her some potion, "but seeing as how he stayed here until he was sure you were alright…well, most guilty people would have left. You weren't hexed though, but fatigued. Have you eaten at all today?"

"…yes," Lola said, it was difficult to talk. Her body felt like it had been asleep for centuries.

"Hmm, very strange indeed. You must be pushing yourself too hard, my dear. This will help with the headache," Madame Pomfrey said as she fed Lola the potion, "good thing you have a friend like Mr. Potter."

Lola was about to inform Madame Pomfrey on how that soulless git was not her friend at all but thought it a meaningless comment. She quickly fell asleep as her headache diminished.

The next day, when Madame Pomfrey was finally convinced she was better; Lola was dismissed from the infirmary. When she was clear from the infirmary Lola began to panic for the first time since she had passed out. What had happened to her? First at the beach now this? If she told her father he would take her from the school. If she told anyone else they would think she was sick…or worse. She knew she was not crazy. Everything else was fine. Grudgingly Lola decided to go talk to the headmaster about it. He was there to help her, right? He would not judge her, at least not to her face and Lola knew he was forbidden by the ministry to discuss anything about her case to anyone but them. He would have to do.

Lola headed to the great hall for a bit of breakfast before class. She had only missed one class today, Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Madame Pomfrey had sent Professor Bloom a note on her behalf who sent a note wishing her a quick recovery. Scorpius had stopped by earlier that day to check on her but Al had not. She wondered if James had said something to him.

The great hall was almost empty when Lola got there. It seemed most everyone she knew was in class. She was grateful though, she really did not feel like answering any questions. Although inside, the enchanted ceiling revealed the harsh winds and foul looking weather outside today and she was not looking forward to bracing it. Besides, it was getting darker earlier.

Lola had always hated this time of year. In California she barely ever got weather colder than forty degrees. The wind was always warm there too and there were plenty of opportunities to go and catch some sunlight. Yet here seemed to be the complete opposite of California and she often wondered whether she had made the right choice in leaving.

A hot and smoking coffee appeared out of the air as she sat down on the Slytherin table. At least she still had coffee. The burning roast warmed her up and kept her going most days but today it was the sole item that mattered to her. Just then Lola remembered other items that mattered. Her green notebook! Jane's picture! All of these things she had left…in the alleyway. James Potter must have had them. They weren't among her possessions when she left the infirmary.

She looked about the great hall but James was not among the Gryffindors at their table. Was she really going to have to go all the way to the Gryffindor common room? It seemed odd but she had a bit of a fear heading there, something Salazar Slytherin inside of her told her to stay away from that place. Coffee in hand she began to panic again. How was she going to get in there? And if she did, what was she going to say to James? How dare he take her things, he had no right! Why, next time she saw him she would surely give him a piece of her mind. Who'd he think he was, king of Hogwarts or something?

"You clutch that thing any tighter it's going to spill all over you," James Potter said behind her. Without thinking Lola turned to face the voice addressing her and indeed spilled her hot coffee all over her hand and James' robes. After a long moment of silence James sighed and pulled out his wand. Lola grimaced, imagining all the terrible things a second year could turn her into but opened her eyes to see the coffee disappeared from James' robes.

"…sorry," she managed to say through her embarrassment.

James at first said nothing. He took out a handkerchief, sat down next to her on the Slytherin table and began to wipe her hand clean of coffee. Lola only watched him, unsure of what to make if his apparent kindness.

"I'm sorry," James finally said, "for scaring you yesterday or whatever I did. You really scared me the way you were convulsing all over the floor, you really looked possessed. I…didn't say anything to Madame Pomfrey…I figured you wouldn't have liked to be kept in there for studying. Anyway, I have some of your things…If you want them back."

Lola watched the strange-acting boy carefully. Before now, James had been nothing but sour to her and Scorpius, why was he suddenly being so polite and good?

"Convulsing?" she asked.

"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else," James said, eyeing the Slytherins and Gryffindors who were carefully watching them.

"…tell me, James," she demanded, slipping her hand out of his. James sighed and got up.

"Follow me, then," he said and left the great hall. Lola cursed and followed him. They walked in silence through the ever changing stairway all the way up to the Gryffindor common room. James whispered the password to the fat lady portrait who eyed them suspiciously but let them enter. They came to a brightly colored room full of dramatic, velvet drapes and impressive tapestries. Lola never thought she would ever get to see this place. James searched the common room but there was no one in sight or sound. He turned back to her and handed her the green notebook. Lola took it quickly; flipped through it, found Jane's picture and everything else she had had in it and shoved it into her robes.

James rolled his eyes but motioned to a fire place where two big, plushy chairs sat. Lola followed him there and they sat in awkward silence for a while until James finally spoke.

"I turned you around but…you weren't the same. Your eyes were all rolled towards the back of your head and you were shaking uncontrollably. When I let you go you practically flew down the alleyway. It was bloody weird!" he said, watching the fire slowly rise.

"….why did you take my things?" Lola asked, watching him fidget.

"…I needed to know, Lola. On my map your name is Riddle not Harlow. You're my little brother's best mate. I…was afraid. I had overheard my father talking about you to my uncle. He said he was too afraid to take your case! I've…I've never heard my father admit fear to anything. I didn't know it was you he was talking about until I saw your name in the marauder's map. "

As he spoke Lola could feel her fear and tension rising. She _knew _it. She knew this would happen. It was only matter of time before everyone else knew too. A strange anti-climatic calmness filled her. At this point it did not matter. She had had it with the fear and panic.

"…So, you told Al," Lola said.

"No," James said as he shook his head vigorously. His scared brown eyes fell on her angry grey ones, "I told him you did not want to see him. Look, Lola, when you were passed out he caught me in the infirmary with you and I panicked. I t was all I could think of to keep him…to keep him away from you. Not because of why you think though."

"Oh really, what should I think then?" Lola questioned, she had just about had it with James Potter too.

"I did not want you to tell him about the marauder's map," James screamed, "Merlin's beard, Lola, are you really this frantic all the time?"

Lola dismissed his insult and got off the chair heading for the portrait doorway, "Why would I tell him about that? It has my name in it…"

"Yeah, well, I figured that much later. Look, I said I was sorry and I won't tell anyone." James said, standing up and following her.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Lola asked, turning to face him.

"You will just have to," James said looking exasperated and tired.

"…give me the map," Lola demanded.

"What? No way!" James said, shaking his red head with his hands up to keep her away.

"You aren't supposed to have it either. I presume you stole it from your father. This is the only way I can be sure you will not tell," Lola said, putting out her hand in his direction.

"What? That's…bollocks," James said as he dug into his robes. After a moment he pulled out the marauder's map, "Fine, but first you have to promise not to show it to anyone,"

"I promise," Lola said.

"Secondly," James began, "you have to tell me how you know what it is."

Lola sighed but decided to tell the truth anyway, he already knew her biggest secret.

"To suppress my magic I took a muggle medicine. It made me have dreams about your father," she said. James eyes grew wide with shock.

"Not in that way, James! I meant while he went to school here. That's why I know so much about him and his friends at the time. Because I… I dreamt of them." Lola corrected herself. James smiled slightly and handed her the marauder's map.

"Unlike you," he said, "I can trust your word that you will keep it a secret,"

Lola stuffed the marauder's map into her robes where her green notebook and Jane's picture were. She opened the portrait doorway, "it's not that I don't trust you, It's that I don' like you, James." she said and left the Gryffindor common room.

She heard him chuckle and call behind her, "I don't much like you either,"

As she reached her room in the Slytherin dungeon she looked about it to make sure none of her roommates were about. Then when she was completely sure she took out her green notebook, the marauder's map and her white wand. She put the notebook down and held the marauder's map in front of her.

With a tap of her wand she said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good,"

Ink appeared, forming passageways and footprints all around. She saw Rose Weasley and May Scamander studying in the library. She saw Nicolas Longbottom, Fiore Thomas, Anjali Aabha and Jasminder Nova all walking up the tower to divination class. She saw James Potter meeting with Fred Weasley, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander in the great hall for lunch. She saw her own, true name, Lola Riddle, staring back at her with ominous intent. She even saw Scorpius and Al heading down from the infirmary towards the dungeons.

She wanted to tell them so badly about the marauder's map but put it away instead.

"Mischief managed," she whispered.

She had a promise to keep.

* * *

That evening she finally caught of glimpse of Al Potter. She was relieved to see him smiling her way and was happy when he wrapped her in a big hug and spun her around that windy afternoon in the courtyard. After apologizing a million times for listening to James, Al finally let Lola speak.

"That is why I told him to tell you to leave me alone," Lola said with a mock serious face on. Al's face looked sadder than a kid without a present on Christmas day. Lola smiled, "because you would talk my ear off asking questions about what happened!"

Al laughed. Scorpius looked worried however, "do you remember what happened?" he asked.

"Nope, not at all, but Madame Pomfrey assured me it was just a bit of fatigue. I had been studying for professor Longbottom's herbology quiz today quite vigorously that afternoon," Lola said.

Al gasped and slapped his forehead, "That's today!"

"I only told you twelve times, Al," Scorpius scolded. They spent the next few, free hours helping Al cram for the quiz while Lola tried to recall what had happened.

"Well, we were arguing about watching where the other was going and I just passed out. He carried me to the infirmary, which I'm sure was hilarious to watch, and that's where I woke up," Lola said.

"…May said she saw you earlier…talking to James," Scorpius silently questioned.

"Well, he had come to apologize, poor guy thought he caused it some way or another, my fainting that is," Lola lied.

"So what, you two are best mates now?" Al asked, looking a bit jealous.

"No," Lola quickly stated, "I still don't like him but at least he's not a total, what is it you guys call it?"

"Git?" Scorpius offered.

"Scoundrel?" Al said dramatically.

"…I was going to say jerk but ok." Lola said. She did truly feel that way about James but she did not like having to lie to her friends about what had really happen. She knew one day she would trust them enough but right now she wanted to make sure no one else found out about her past. Every time she passed James in the hallway he often nodded to her, acknowledging her presence. Lola would try to not catch his eyes but she always did. It wasn't as much awkward as it was embarrassing. Jasminder and Anjali often gave her questioning looks with little, wry smiles on their lips. May would blush for her. Even Al sometimes laughed at her failed attempts to avoid him. Only Scorpius seemed to find it as annoying as she did.

"That bloke really thinks you two are on good terms now?" Scorpius would say.

Al would laugh at him, "What are you, jealous, Scorpius?"

"Jealous? Of what? He is creepy," Scorpius would say, red faced.

Lola would remain quiet. She knew it was all good fun but James knew something about her that she could not have him knowing. It wasn't that she distrusted James; on the contrary she knew he had to keep her secret. But it was the way he acted around her. It wasn't respect or even tolerance. It took her weeks to figure out that it was fear. He would nod politely and curtly and then swiftly walk away. He would make eye contact but shiver away briskly.

He feared her. He feared her name, her blood, her heritage, everything without knowing one thing about her! This kept her up at night. This made her cry silently from frustration. She had to face him and somehow convince him that he had nothing to fear before he truly gave into it. If he did, others would soon follow.

Two months into term, she sent him an owl. That lazy Sunday breakfast came upon them and she was nervously watching James at his table from the corner of her eye. He was laughing with his cousin Fred and his friends and the owls came in. Lily Beau had dropped her some letters but she barely noticed as James got her card. He read it silently without expression; suddenly he turned to look her way. Lola, horrified, turned back to Al and Scorpius's ridiculous conversation about ways of getting out of homework. They soon quieted down and looked confusingly and questioningly behind her. Lola could feel a presence behind her. She did not dare move.

"Yeah?" Al asked.

James voice answered behind her, "…Lola, you wanted to talk to me,"

Lola closed her eyes in anger and embarrassment. Did he really have to keep doing this in front of everyone? She silently got up and left the hallway with James Potter right behind her. Al and Scorpius watched them go, both their faces angry and fuming.

As soon as they were alone Lola turned angrily to face James who had a smug look on his face.

"I clearly stated to meet me at 7 by the great hall doors!" she said. He only held back a smile and looked at his nails.

"Well," he began nonchalantly, "I have quidditch practice then so what do you want?"

"This is not funny, this is actually a very serious matter," Lola said, her eyebrows furrowed in anger and exasperation.

James giggled, "Right, of course,"

Second guessing herself now, Lola wondered if it was fear that drove him or something else. He was acting very unafraid around her now.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Lola asked, crossing her arms.

James smiled kindly, "Lola, I get that you have a crush on me but really this is-"

"WHAT?" Lola asked with her mouth open and grey eyes wide.

James scoffed, "It's really not a big deal, you are rather dramatic,"

"crush on you? No, James, I do not have a crush on you. You scare the shit out of me," Lola said. As soon as she said it she realized it was true. She was afraid of James, not the other way around. And now she had told him. She wanted to slap herself.

James looked confused, "but your friends are always pointing and giggling when… oh, because I know," a smug look came upon his face, "well that's sort of a relief I guess,"

"…look, James, you have no idea how hard this is for me," Lola began, may be if she explained how she felt he would take her seriously, "I'm in a new place that is weird and not logical, I'm far from my father who is the only family I have ever had, and I'm just trying to figure everything out. I don't want to lose what little I have here,"

"Lola, please, stop," James said, putting his hands on her shoulders, he was a whole head taller than her, "I much better like you when you are mean and less sensitive. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it."

Lola looked up into his brown eyes. Why was she feeling so emotional lately?

"Wow, you really are losing sleep over this" James said, "look, if it makes you feel any better, my dad would probably get thrown in Azkaban if I told anyone about you. You are technically a secret ministry case and if anyone found out my father would be liable. Believe me; I would never live down getting Harry Potter thrown in jail,"

"…did he really say he was afraid to take my case?" Lola asked. All the things that had been bothering her surfaced suddenly.

James bit his lip, sighed, and pulled her into an unexpected hug, "…he didn't mean it like that. You have to remember, Lola, everyone has their fears and my father….well…he feared your grandfather for most of his life. I'm sorry for being so judgmental before, it's something I am working on really. Please don't cry,"

"…are you afraid of me?" Lola asked.

"No, Lola, you are like two feet tall and my brother's best mate, I'm not afraid of you…"

He looked down and wiped her growing tears away. For the first time, they truly smiled at each other. Suddenly James fell to the ground stiff as a board and Lola turned to see Al and Scorpius with their wands out.

"get your hands off of her, you fiend!" Scorpius bellowed.

"I knew you were going to do this!" Al screamed.

"What is wrong with you two?" Lola questioned as she bent over to check on James and un-jinx him. He lay on the ground rubbing his head, which had directly hit the stone floor below.

"Lola, he was trying to kiss you, that pig," Al said, his wand still aimed directly at James.

Lola put her face in her hands to keep from laughing, "No, Al, no, as usual, you two are wrong as hell,"

"…but, we saved you, he had his arms all around you," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, it's called a hug, you give them when someone is sad and in need of it, that was a pretty powerful stun though, little bro, I'm impressed," James mumbled as Lola helped him to his feet.

"Why were you sad, did he make you cry!?" Al said about to throw another spell when Professor Longbottom grabbed his arm. James, Lola, Scorpius and Al all looked mortified by his presence.

"Al, really?" Professor Longbottom said as Al put his wand away, "ten points from Slytherin,"

"But he was making her cry cause he wanted to kiss her!" Al screamed.

"No, he did not," Lola said, trying to avoid eye contact with Professor Longbottom, "Al, please stop talking,"

Al opened his mouth to say something but angrily shut it and stormed off. Professor Longbottom sighed, shook his head and carried on through the hallway towards the great hall.

"Well, this has been thoroughly awkward enough," James said after a long moment of silence and walked away towards the Gryffindor common room.

"….so, we didn't save you?" Scorpius said. Lola shook her head.

"Goodbye, Lola, next time I'll follow your advice and keep away from your fan club," James called from the top of a shifting stair with a wide grin on his face. Lola rolled her eyes and dragged and angry Scorpius towards the dungeon.

* * *

_haha, Scorpius and Al are so cute. So what do you think of James? a rather mysterious little git isn't he? The reasoning behind Al's distrust of James will be next as well as some more tender moments in Hogwarts. REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW._


	9. Chapter 9: Charm

_warning: this is the big, gay chapter. if you are a hater, refrain from annoying me with your rants. k thanks._

* * *

"Al, just open the door," Lola called from outside his room. Scorpius sat quietly in the common area, contemplating the whole encounter they just had.

"GO AWAY, LOLA," Al's muffled voice said through the cracks on his door.

"You are being awfully sensitive about this," Lola said.

Al's door swung open violently, "I am NOT being sensitive, he had his arms all over you, have you no shame?"

"Al, I'm eleven and he is twelve, what the hell did you think was going to happen?" Lola said.

Al looked exasperated, "you do not know my brother, Lola, he is a snake,"

"Yeah and I suppose I am an innocent little flower just ripe for the picking? Don't be such a boy, Al," Lola said, laughing.

"This isn't funny," Al said, looking livid.

"It is, actually. I never knew you were such a drama queen," Lola said giggling.

"I don't like it, Lola. My brother is a snake, you shouldn't trust him. I don't like you two sneaking off every chance you get and I certainly don't like you keeping secrets with him," Al said.

Lola grew serious, "look, Al, I am only going to say this once. Who I choose to spend my time with and keep supposed secrets with is my business. You are not my father,"

"But he is my brother and I know him much better than you. I'm your friend, Lola, I am begging you, don't trust him…with anything," Al looked so sincere that Lola almost gave in to his demands…almost.

"…well, if you are going to be a big, jealous git about all this I'm going to go," Lola said.

Al pulled her back, "I'm not jealous and I'm not being a git, I'm dead serious,"

Lola had had it, "tell me, then, why is he so untrustworthy, then? What is this all about?"

"Lola," Al began.

"No, don't Lola me, I want to know. I you are going to order me around I might as well know why, right? So tell me? What horrible thing did he do to you?" Lola beckoned.

"Loads of things, Lola, he is my goddamn brother!" Al said.

"Oh, Al you are such a child," Lola said, ripping her arm of his grasp.

"Fine, don't believe me, but when it all comes crashing down, don't expect me to be there to save you again," Al screamed.

"I did NOT need saving, we were just hugging!" Lola screamed back.

"My brother does not get involved with people unless he wants something from them, Lola, and with you it's pretty clear what."

Lola's mouth dropped in utter shock, "EXCUSE ME? What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh come on, Lola, you are my best mate," Al said.

"…So you think, just because I'm your friend, he is going to try to seduce me, just to spite you?" Lola questioned.

"…I know it, and it's not just because of that, he hates Scorpius too… he'd do anything to try to hurt him," Al tried to reason.

"I do not belong to either of you. I am not your exclusive friend," Lola began.

"It's not like that, Lola," Al tried to interject.

"Oh, it really is! An if you two think that I'll show you just how un-exclusive-"

Al dragged her into his room and shut the door.

"Can't you see the way he fawns over you, Lola?" Al screamed.

"James does not fawn-" Lola began.

"Not him, Scorpius," Al interjected.

"What?" Lola questioned.

"He is doing this to spite us, especially Scorpius," Al said.

"…you are unbelievable," Lola said as she tried to leave the room.

"I care about him, Lola," Al said abruptly.

Lola turned around to see Al's green eyes filled with tears, "…what are you saying, Al?"

"…I can't bear to see him hurt," Al finally said. He fell on his bed, defeated.

"I care about him too," Lola began.

"No, Lola, I _really _care about him…like too much," Al said.

Lola watched him, confused, but suddenly it hit her. She knew Scorpius had a crush on her, But she never realized until now that Al had a crush on Scorpius.

"…oh my," Lola managed to say as sat down next to Al.

"I wanted to tell you but you were too busy sneaking off with James and making him miserable," Al said, his hands covering his quivering face. She lay down next to him and stroked his hair.

"…Al we are kids, you know, I don't feel that way about anyone. Not James or Scorpius, I don't even think of those things. You know that,"

'I do," Al said, "all the time. He is always on my mind. James….knows. He keeps telling me he is going to tell Scorpius if I don't stop. He'd do anything to make me miserable,"

"…oh dear…look, James Potter is not my friend, he just happened to be there when I broke down. If you want, I can hex him for you," Lola said.

Al feigned a smile.

"Al…you do realize you can save yourself the agony and tell Scorpius yourself, right?" Lola asked.

"Why, so he can hate me?" Al questioned.

"Al, come on, he idolizes you," Lola said, stroking his brown hair.

"Lola, come on, he is straight," Al said.

"He is eleven; he only likes me because clearly I am awesome. It's a just a little boy's crush really. I don't think Scorpius even knows what sex is," Lola joked.

Al giggled, "…he is so innocent,"

"He is also your best mate and he would never judge you on this," Lola said.

Al sighed and revealed his face, "I'm not telling him I like him,"

"But he should know you are a flaming homo," Lola mused.

"Oh shut it. I could just be going through a phase," Al offered.

"Yeah, I think its called puberty," Lola said. Al playfully pushed her.

"…so are you really not friends or falling for my brother's charms?" Al asked.

"…honestly, he has something on me and I don't want him to tell anyone about it, you and Scorpius ruined my plan to get him to think I'm adorable and do my bidding," Lola said carefully.

"Ah, the old puppy dog eyes trick, I should have recognized a master at work," Al said, finally not shaking anymore, "so what does he have on you?"

There was a timid knock on the door, "are you guys done fighting now?" Scorpius's muffled voice called.

Lola and Al giggled as Scorpius slowly opened the door.

"Good, I thought that would never end," Scorpius said with a relieved smile on his face as he went to lay with them on Al's bed.

"Scorpius, what are your thoughts on poofters?" Al asked.

Lola tried to hold back a laugh.

"I'm sorry?" Scorpius questioned.

"You know, poofters, gays, fairies," Al continued.

"…aren't you being a bit judgmental, Albus? Not very proper for a boy named after the most famous gay wizard of all." Scorpius replied after a few moments.

Al sat up abruptly, "get out of here, Albus Dumbledore was gay?"

"Well I know what I'm not naming my son," Lola murmured and giggled as Al punched her in the arm.

"Yes, so you should learn to have a bit more respect and tolerance," Scorpius said.

"How do you know?' Al asked.

"Seriously, Al, pick up a book and read it," Scorpius said.

* * *

Lola's days went by at Hogwarts without one bit of normalcy to be found. Every day was full of strange magic and new discoveries. Now that she knew she often noticed Al's longing looks upon the oblivious Scorpius. She was never one to judge another but Lola could not wrap her mind around liking Scorpius. He was a great friend but there was nothing sexy about him. He was boyish and pale, with bright white blonde hair and barely there light grey eyes. He was innocent and childish, he only made jokes once in a blue moon, and he was only excited by the prospect of a new spell or book to read.

Lola herself could never imagine dating someone like that. If she ever dated, which she never planned to, it would have to be with someone far more charming and mysterious. But whatever Al wanted had nothing to do with her. She did however want to find Al someone to snog with so he could get over his pathetic crush on Scorpius. She would have to ask Alexander when she next wrote him who were the out and about gay lads in Hogwarts. If anyone would know it would be Alexander Sweyn. He was so clearly desperately in love with Sir Hotspur; even Lola wondered why no one else noticed it. Maybe she just had a blooming gaydar, or maybe everyone else was blind to the obvious.

She opened up the letter Alexander had sent her two days ago.

Lola,

Status report : I'm sorry it has taken us so long to send you the file but it will be coming in with my next letter. The list of suspects keeps growing which you can take as good or bad depending on how you see the situation. Headmaster Wood reporter that there has been no break in attempts at Hogwarts and your father is doing quite well as well. So, we have reason to believe that your attackers are either unaware of you and your father's whereabouts or, unfortunately, planning very dubiously their next attack.

Now, on to other things. I'm glad to hear you are adjusting rather well. But I do wish to tell you that your fears are very normal, Lola, for someone in your situation. Do know I am working quite hard to make sure your time in Hogwarts is nothing short of a positive beginning to magic. I must however, ask you not to mention it again in future letters so blatantly because dark wizards can be very cunning and will, if desperate, intersect owls. Lily Beau is trained well, but anything is vulnerable to a good confundus charm.

Anyway you'll be happy to know I am sleeping well. Sir Hotspur has made it a priority to make sure I sleep so you can thank him for that. He is, however, rather angry with your father. You see he just found out that you two suffered from dreams concerning Lord Voldemort and the rest of our wizarding world and I'm guessing he thinks you two should have told us earlier. I actually wouldn't know what he thinks because he is being a real secretive git about it all. We found this file from Dumbledore's desk concerning your father. When I'm finished with it I will send a copy of it to you. I'm pretty sure you are going to beg me for it anyway so don't waste valuable letter space. Did you know Dumbledore was openly gay? I just found this out and it is all grand news to me. Oh heavens, my rambling!

Well, professor Dandridge died of old age. It was all just very sad and sudden for us is all. She was a grand teacher….told us a lot of great stories of the revolution. She was an auror during that time. She even worked with Alaster Moody on a case once! Sounds like you've got yourself quite an interesting teacher though. Being the obsessive detective that I am I researched him but did not find anything threatening so you should be a good and proper student and not listen to Professor Knightley's gossip. I look forward to hearing for you, Lola. Write soon!

Sincerely,

Alexander Sweyn

Lola read the letter over and again stopping on one thing: Dumbledore's file. He had kept a file on her father. Alexander was right; she would have killed to see that thing. She thought about what he had written on how their letters could get intercepted and it chilled her to the bone. But it was good to know that nothing awful had happened to her father seeing as how he had not written her yet. She took out her parchment and quill and ink, since professor Knightley had long past taken her pen and broken it in anger, and began to write Alexander back.

Alexander,

I am looking forward to seeing both of those files! Guess what? I am writing with a quill! Now I have had very little practice so do not judge my smudges too harshly, I am left handed you know. All this adjusting to hand written letters and magic is terribly tedious. But maybe life without a cell phone and internet will be good for me. Last time I spoke to my dad he said it would definitely lower my chances of getting cancer! He is pretty neurotic that father of mine. The weather here is awful; I'm going to have to find some sort of sport to do around here because I can't surf anymore. Any suggestions? I'm not old enough to play quidditch so think thoroughly on it. I find myself talking much more proper now. It's the constant joke around here how they are converting my American tendencies.

Oh sir Hotspur is taking a greater interest in you then? That's wonderful to hear! I was wondering when I would get to hear the juicy gossip about you two. I WANT TO KNOW EVEREYTHING. Who else are you going to confide in if it is not me? I expect your next letter to be less modest, Alexander. Well, yes I knew Dumbledore was gay, it was a rather obvious thing, however, I cannot figure out who are the gay boys and girls here in Hogwarts. No offense, but you British are all very open and fabulous to an extent which I can't figure out who is what. Now I don't want to hear any 'Lola you are to young''s or 'Lola that is an inappropriate topic''s from you, Alexander, so do not waste any valuable writing space on such nonsense. I am a growing girl and am quite aware of how the world is. Your professor sounds like she was quite a character, I'm sorry to have missed her. Mine is growing on me, I guess. Professor Knightley is a pin, however. My god, can that woman rant for hours! And she is so terribly skinny. Really I think I just want to feed her something. She is terribly young though, does she just look it or is she some sort of fantastic witch I've never heard of? I can't wait to know more.

Your Friend,

Lola

Lola sealed up the letter and went towards the owlery. As she passed through the lonely alleyway she remembered bit s and pieces of her encounter with James. He was such a strange person. Strange but also a bit intriguing. She would never confess it out loud but Lola found James alluring in a mysterious sort of way. He wanted something from her but Lola could not figure out what and it drove Al and Scorpius crazy which she did find rather amusing.

She thought about telling Alexander and Sir Hotspur about James but something inside her told her not to. Very often she was prone to these mysterious demands from her subconscious. Ever since she stopped taking her medicines actually. But Madame Pomfrey had found her all well and good so Lola was not too worried about it. She was worried about her visions. James had said she had convulsed violently. Standing in the hallway now she could not remember any of it. All she could remember was turning to see Tom Riddle holding her instead of James.

She supposed she should talk to someone about this but whom? She could not write about it in a letter, she could not trust her friends and she was certain she could not trust James. There was only one other person she could think of but she still did not like the thought of it. Headmaster Wood was aware of her situation, but something about him was just not sitting well with Lola. She dismissed the obvious fear and excuse and told herself to go see him as soon as possible. She had planned to go before but then the whole James thing had happened. Stupid James, he really did get in the way of everything. She would have to be civil with him though, no matter what he was like with Al and Scorpius he held her own secret and that was more important than any sibling rivalries or belligerent battles.

She petted and fed Lily Beau for a while before handing her the letters and heading towards the tower to do some studying. The bird ate impatiently, wanting to much rather spend time with the hooting friends around. When she got to the tower she gasped at the figure before her.

"James, what the hell are you doing here!?" she screamed.

James Potter looked up and smiled in her direction.

"What are you, stalking me?" Lola questioned as she looked about the yard. There was no one else there.

"…the marauder's map used to always say you were here so I thought I would come and find you," James said with his hands in his pockets, looking calm and collected. Lola, however, was pissed.

"So you are stalking me?" she said more than asked and left the tower. James followed her down the stairs.

"You know you are truly a mystery to me, Lola, one day you are a terrible recluse, the next day an emotional wreck and now a mean, rude and feisty little girl," James commented as they descended the stairs.

"Well you are always a pompous git," Lola said as they reached the bottom. Why did everyone she knew had to be walking through that hallway? She would just have to walk briskly through the crowd to get away from James. He laughed behind her.

"So now I'm a git, then? I see you are taking well to our British way of speech. I liked you much better when you would insult me in your American way though," he commented, following her closely.

"Go away, James," Lola warned as she neared an open courtyard.

"Oh come on, just one little American insult, Lola?" he said louder. Lola swung around angrily and he knocked right into her.

"Leave me alone, creep," Lola whispered menacingly as she changed directions, heading against the traffic of the hallway. James laughed hardily, still following her. People were watching them now.

"There you go. So I'm guessing my brother has painted me a terrible monster to you then? Surely you don't believe him he is prone to eccentricity," James commented. Lola finally reached the great hall doors, it was less crowded here.

"…true but that doesn't make his warnings of you any less clear," she murmured as she tried to hurry up the stairs. Maybe they would shift in her favor.

James smiled sardonically, "why he must have been very convincing then?"

Lola sighed and turned to face him as the stair they stood in glided across the room, "look, James, Al may be a bit of an exaggerator but you had no right blackmailing him on his feelings for Scorpius. No matter what I think of you that was a very low thing to do and reason enough for me to stay away from you and distrust your intentions. If you are ever in desperate need of a friend I am here but that is all I believe our relationship should go to. You know entirely too much of me while I know nothing of you."

James smile was wide and he menacingly laughed a bit, his brown eyes looking wicked and playful, "Al is nothing but a child, Lola, you should know this quite well. Obviously I wouldn't have said anything, do you really think I want everyone to know my brother is a poofter? Or believes himself to be one anyway. Really he is just prone to ridiculous, attention-giving rants. Now I know you are much more mature than that little brother of mine and find me just as interesting as I find you. You practically admitted to it already. So just stop being such a girl and leave the drama for Albus."

"…you do not fool me, James Potter," Lola said as she traveled down a few steps to face him.

He raised a dark red eyebrow, "really?" Looking up into her eyes with glee and obvious delight.

Lola's grey eyes shrunk to a malicious glare, "no, James, and until you start to treat your brother and my friend Scorpius with more respect you will have to accept my terms."

"…so they are prone to change?" he asked as he stepped up one step, closer to her.

Lola wanted to step back but she also did not want to lose the obvious challenge," possibly, but under my terms, not yours," she said, not revealing any distress in her face at his closeness. James smiled to himself and turned back to her; brown eyes intense and wicked, and nodded. With that he turned and headed back down the stairs. Lola took a few moments to collect herself and quickly headed towards her destination, a lonely old room she had found on the marauder's map abandoned but perfect for studying and thought collecting.

She lay on the soft wood wondering what the heel had just happened between her and James. Why was he so weird? This year was going to be full of drama; she could already feel it coming.

* * *

_Charming little Potter, isn't he? i am really liking Hotspur and writing his character. yeah so i needed my gays in there and i already planned some Sweyn-Hotspur action and i thought, why not spice it up a bit? REVIEW!_


	10. Chapter 10: Inheritance

_Now that I've gotten all my fluffy stuff out of the way get ready for some adventure :)_

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Lola was tired of wondering about her father. He had the time to talk to Sir Hotspur and Alexander but not to his own daughter! Who did he think he was? He had made her a promise and he was damn well going to keep it whether he liked it or not. Lola did not like feeling so alone and bothered. Her father had never intentionally ignored her and she knew it must have something to do with that new job of his… she hoped no one had intercepted her letter to him. Either way she convinced herself to wait one more week for his reply. If not, she would go to Headmaster Wood with yet another worry to add to her growing list of concerns.

She kept avoiding heading there but as she grew more desperate for a means of expressing her anxiousness she gave in to the thought more and more. What was it with this magical world? Ever since she had become of aware of it the damn place had done nothing but give her mental breakdowns! She loved her classes, and her growing friendships but nothing back in America had ever plagued her so. California seemed like a fading dream than a memory to her the more time she spent in Hogwarts.

She wanted so desperately to be out in the sunlight again. But whenever she did allow herself to think of California, America, or her father, her thoughts slowly fell on her mother. This drove her mental. She did not ever want to think of her, especially not know that all she could see was the night of the attack. Her mother had bravely and very out of character thrown herself in the way of an attack. She had sacrificed herself for Lola. At the time Lola hadn't realized that it was this selfless act that had brought the magic out of her. Her father had not said anything about his mother since they last saw her. He usually always found a way to bring her memory back into any conversation.

There were so many mysterious women in her family. Jane Harlow, the once lover of Tom Riddle, who died protecting her son from his madness. What had driven her, love? Lola still had nothing but that article and picture on her. Then again, she had not searched for anything because there was no means on searching muggle inquiries at Hogwarts. She wondered if Headmaster Wood would help her with that. Another issue for the list. She never realized how many issues she had until now. She was really losing her mind quickly here.

Her mother was always a mystery. Born Lola Paola Vega, her mother had never traveled outside of her Arizona town until she married her father. Lola only knew bits and pieces her father had told her. Her mother had had an older sister but she had committed suicide before Lola was born. Her name had been Sofia, and this name her mother had given to Lola as middle name. Lola Sofia Harlow….Lola Sofia Riddle. Her father had told Lola of the strange ways they had met and of their wedding day but not much else. She wondered if that was why she was such a recluse. Maybe it ran in the family?

Tom Riddle had not been much of a recluse however. Viciously secretive but not a recluse at all. If there was a way she could have known him… this thought always bothered Lola. She knew it was wrong. It was wrong to think such horrid things. Her grandfather had been a terrible man who made millions of people's lives a living hell…but she couldn't help but wonder what he would have done if he had known he had a son or a granddaughter. Lola would secretly daydream that he would have rejoiced at the thought of having any bit of Jane Harlow back. He would have embraced her father and brought him up himself. He might have even renounced his devious plans.

Or he could have cared less. He could have feared the thought of facing Jane Harlow's death and destroyed any bit of evidence at his one lapse in judgment; his one proof of weakness. He would have killed her father and there would have been no Lola Sofia Riddle Harlow. She flipped through her green journal and read Jane's article over and over again. She knew she should be studying but her ancestry called to her in a way it had never done before. She was sure this Jane Harlow was the same from her dreams. Her smile, those glorious blue eyes, the jet black hair, no one else could have pulled it off so gracefully.

She figured her visions had been a warning. They had been sent to her from some part of her subconscious that knew and sensed those wannabe death eaters were coming for her. But that meant that her current vision in the alleyway would mean something too. She hoped with all her might it was nothing. Hours passed and it was darker than ebony when she realized the time. She would have to sneak into the Slytherin dungeons; it was way past the time she and the rest of the students were allowed to roam freely. She sneaked down through the dark, creaky and creepy corridors of the eerily silent castle with her white wand producing the only light to guide her. The portraits grumbled but said nothing to her as tried to travel quietly and quickly. Something was wrong. She was far too scared and her heart beat was quickening. Lola stopped in an empty corridor and took out the marauder's map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she whispered as the parchment filled with ink. She quickly found herself and saw that there was no one near her side of the castle. She knew she should be relieved but found herself growing more panic. She was breathing hard and her eyesight was starting to blur. She knew she had to get to Madame Pomfrey's quickly. She changed directions and quickly headed through the overbearing darkness towards the infirmary. She could feel herself beginning to shake. The map in her hand quivered.

Only a few feet from her destination, Lola stopped abruptly when she noticed a figure before her clouded in darkness. She looked down to the map; it said no one was there. She wanted to scream out and question the figure but she knew who it was.

Tom Riddle stepped out of the shadows and offered a bony, chalk white, hand to her, "come," he simply stated.

Lola could not believe her eyes. She was officially insane. She shook her head and tried to run away from the figure but could not move.

Tom Riddle simply laughed, slowly and deeply, and repeated the phrase, "come."

Lola fell to the floor, unconscious; her body and mind were exhausted.

* * *

Lola opened her eyes to find herself in Headmaster Wood's arms. It was dawn and the darkness of the castle was receding into the corners and shadows of early morning. Lola did not stir, in Headmaster Wood's arms she felt a surprising, lulling easiness and her throbbing head succumbed to it. She could hear his heart beat racing against her head; he was running. She wondered where he was off to in such a hurry.

Then she remembered. The sifting darkness, the shadow in front of the infirmary; Tom Riddle had come for her last night. Lola screamed and gripped Headmaster Wood's robes with her delicate hands, trying to grab hold of her fading sanity.

"Lola, Lola stop. It's going to be alright," He said. But she could hardly hear his voice. She was insane, whether she was in this world or the muggle world, she was losing her mind. Headmaster Wood took her to his office behind the silent gargoyle statue set to protect it. Unlike Dumbledore's, Headmaster Wood's décor was fit for a champion. He had quidditch regalia all over the room and pictures of himself as Puddlemere United's eventual keeper as well of many of his teammates over the years. There was even a rather old picture of him as a boy with Harry Potter, the Weasley twins and the rest of that year's Gryffindor Quidditch team closer to his desk. They had just won the quidditch cup and were overjoyed. Headmaster Wood had been crying in the photo.

He softly put her down on a comforting, red and gold couch and went to one of the portraits in the office. Lola closed her eyes. She was so tired. She just wanted to go home and to bed. She just wanted to see her dad. Headmaster Wood quietly through some floo powder into his giant fireplace, it glowed vibrant and green. She wanted to know who was coming, or where he was going but she could not find the strength to raise her voice. Out of the green flames appeared Sir Hotspur and a flushed Alexander Sweyn who rushed over to her.

"Lola, can you hear me?" Alexander asked, he seemed worried. It took some effort but Lola nodded her head. He performed some simple medicinal spells but to no avail; he turned to Sir Hotspur, who had been talking with Headmaster Wood, with a very nervous look on his young handsome face, "This is not a jinx or charm," he said. Sir Hotspur's eyes rested on Alexander's for a while before turning on Lola. Slowly he walked up to her.

"…what did you see, Lola?" he asked roughly. Alexander looked perplexed and a bit vexed by his rashness. Headmaster Wood just watched them all.

"…I saw lord Voldemort," she whispered. Headmaster Wood gasped, his eyes filled with fear and he turned to another portrait and began whispering harshly and desperately to it.

"Get Harry Potter and Minister Shacklebolt here now," Headmaster Wood asked the portrait.

"Wait," Sir Hotspur demanded as he watched Lola unscrupulously. Headmaster Wood held up his hand to the portrait, watching Sir Hotspur with incredulous worry.

Sir Hotspur cleared his throat, "tell me, Lola, what did he look like?"

"This is madness," Alexander mumbled but Sir Hotspur shot him a menacing look.

"It could be a reaction to the lack of medicines. One of those induces dreams," Sir Hotspur reasoned.

"He looked like death," Lola said, growing stronger with the sunrise, "he looked like a pale snake."

Alexander's dark eyes were wide with concern. He wasn't breathing.

"…Did he say anything to you, Lola?" Sir Hotspur inquired.

"…what does that matter?" Alexander questioned. Hotspur held up a hand to silence him. They waited patiently for her to respond. Lola did not want to tell them of her madness but they were insisting and they were the only ones who could help her.

Slowly she pushed herself up until she was sitting upright facing Alexander and Sir Hotspur, who were kneeling before her. She looked at them both; Alexander and his wide eyes and Sir Hotspur and his serious expression. She wanted to see her father.

"He held out his hand to me and he smiled and he said 'come'." She finally said in a childish voice that was very much unlike her.

Alexander took his first breath and went to Headmaster Wood's portrait, "get the minister and Mr. Potter like the headmaster said,"

Sir Hotspur simply stood and went to Headmaster Wood questioning him on where he found her.

"Outside the infirmary…there were no traces of recent magic there," Headmaster Wood responded. Sir Hotspur admitted he believed him but he would have to go test it out himself. Briskly he left the office. Alexander silently watched him go but instead of following him he sat next to Lola.

"…I was in the middle of writing you an angry letter when we got the news," Alexander said, looking grim and small, "I guess there are worse things out there than being desperately in love with your mentor."

"…I think he loves you back," Lola said, gaining her usual, strong voice back.

Alexander tried to smile but his worry wouldn't let him. Lola dug her little hand into his rough, bigger one. The green flames stirred and out of them appeared Minister Shacklebolt and an older, tougher looking version of Harry Potter she had never expected to see. His black hair was still messy but much shorter and he had a small, black mustache and beard giving him the appearance of an older man. He was tall but next to Headmaster Wood and minister Shacklebolt he appeared like the boy she had always dreamed of. She smiled at him and after a moment he smiled back, slightly.

"Oliver," Harry Potter greeted Headmaster Wood.

"It is bad news," Headmaster Wood replied after a quick hug.

"Not necessarily," Sir Hotspur's booming voice came from the front office door, "By the way, Oliver 'puddlemere united' is not a very good password. Hello minister…Mister Potter,"

They nodded.

"As Headmaster Wood feared there was no foul play in the hallway leading to the infirmary where Miss Harlow was found," Sir Hotspur began his sleuthing spiel with more vigor than ever before, " this can only confirm our fears that Miss Harlow is indeed-"

"I do not believe we've met," Harry Potter interrupted as he turned his full attention on Lola. Sir Hotspur was left with his mouth open, mid speech and clearly insulted. Lola opened her mouth to speak but her grey eyes kept darting timidly between Harry Potter and the fuming Sir Hotspur. Mr. Potter seemed to take this as a sign and moved across the room to stand before her.

He offered her his hand, "My name is Harry Potter,"

"I know who you are, sir," she said. The whole room watched quietly, even Sir Hotspur.

Harry smiled but his green eyes looked worried. He shook her hand, "and you are?"

"Lola Harlow, sir, but I think you already knew that…" she said. Lola had played enough games with the Potters in her recent life. She did not feel like being coy with this one. This time Mr. Potter smile was more reserved and polite.

"Still, no reason for us to be properly introduced," he said, "now, Miss Harlow, can you tell me one thing, in these visions of yours, are you watching Tom Riddle approach someone, are you Tom Riddle or is he-"

"You can call me Lola, sir," she interrupted, "he is talking to me, there is never anyone else there."

Mr. Potter's green eyes glittered with thought and wonder but he did not say anything.

"Well," Lola began, "since most of you in this room already know, I guess I should say it here. This isn't what you think, technically, that would be impossible."

They all watched her curiously and silently. Minister Shacklebolt raised a dark and barely noticeable eyebrow, " and what is it that you think we think?"

"That I'm a horcrux," Lola said, without any fear or hesitation. She was too tired for all of that. The rest of the room gasped.

Lola continued indignantly, "there were only seven horcruxes: Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, Tom Riddle's diary, Nagini and you, sir, Harry Potter. Seven is the most magical number. Besides, Tom Riddle was already dead by the time I was born. You saw to that, sir."

Harry Potter watched her with awe and trepidation. The rest of the group was wide eyed but kept their mouths firmly shut, awaiting Mr. Potter's reaction.

"…you know so much," Harry Potter managed to say.

Lola sighed deeply, "I think I'm just going crazy, if that helps at all."

"No," Harry Potter responded quickly, his face seemingly lost in thought and wonder. He paced about the room, "but this is curious. Sir Hotspur and his apprentice have managed to keep your current location a secret but I fear once they finish combing the muggle world those fiends will turn their attention here. Hogwarts is safer than ever, but we cannot deny the cunning of these dark wizards. They did break into the ministry undetected for the most part. This is most peculiar. Nevertheless those after you, Miss Harlow, will interpret your condition as a sign of their initial plan to dub you their final means of getting Tom Riddle back and they will come after you as they have shown to be their first and foremost intention."

"What are you getting at, sir?"Lola asked, the looks she got revealed that not many people spoke to Mr. Potter in such a brash way, "if you don't mind my asking, sir…"

"…I'm not sure. We will have to test this further. I agree with you, Miss Harlow, the horcruxes are our best clue against their suspicions. But you see not many people know that those were his horcruxes. It wasn't exactly reported in the papers. That's another thing, Miss Harlow, you, I and the rest of the people in this room are aware of your premonitions, dreams, visions, whatever you wish to call them, about my life and Tom Riddle's life but no one else should be privy to that information. So for later references, do not mention your abilities so casually." Harry Potter demanded. Lola raised an eyebrow and was about to question Mr. Potter back but Alexander cut her off.

"Sir," he began, "How do you plan to test these…visions?"

"That's the mystery now," Harry Potter said, more to himself than to the room that watched him. He really had grown to be quite a man. He was no longer a skinny, built boy but a hardy man with scars from adventures Lola did not witness.

"I propose," Sir Hotspur chimed in, "we treat it like any other muggle born case, no offense, Miss Harlow,"

"Non taken sir," she mumbled.

"And we let it develop, under supervision of course. Headmaster Wood, as far as you could tell, whilst or after Lola was having her…visions, you found her shaking roughly on the ground, as if under some unknown spell or trance. To me this is clear evidence of a dream-like stupor, but we will have to investigate further. We have to figure out what causes these violent disturbances, how to control them for the girl's sake, and, if we can, how to stop it, that is our first objective." He finished. Everyone about the room looked convinced, minus Mr. Potter.

"I do not know if letting her fall deeper into this state is a risk we can take," Mr. Potter said.

Sir Hotspur sighed deeply. She knew he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs at his employer.

"The only person who can give us permission on that, sir," Alexander chimed in, "is her father. If he agrees then this seems like the most logical way to go about it."

"Lola," Mr. Potter began, "would you say your dreams have gotten worse since you stopped taking your muggle medicines?"

"…yes, but, you see, before this all happened I had been between pills. So I figured I was still adjusting to my new prescription. But I had never dreamed of Tom Riddle like I had on those pills or like I am now, that I'm not taking anything." She said.

"…maybe we should just put her back on her old medicines, the prescription before this last one," Mr. Potter suggested.

"No!" Lola found herself screaming, "those things suppress my magic. I won't be able to go to school anymore."

Mr. Potter turned to watch her. He clearly had not been yelled at for a long time, "it might be the best and safest option we have right now, Miss Harlow,"

"Well, there is sir Hotspur's suggestion. I don't mind being a guinea pig, sir, I am pretty sure I am actually the most curious person in this room about what the hell is wrong with me. I know I am a minor and at your whim but I also know you have to ask my father first for any of these suggestion." Lola said smugly.

"That's where you are wrong, Miss Harlow," minister Shacklebolt cut in, " in matters this serious, the ministry can bypass such rights for the good of the state."

Lola was quiet now. She gathered her thoughts before she spoke, "I know you fear me, Mr. Potter. I know I am not a case you ever expected or were ready for,"

Harry Potter watched her with intense, unnerving green eyes. The rest of the room's stare seemed faint compared to his emerald gaze.

"But," she continued slowly, " I am here. And you do have to deal with me. I have a right to know what's wrong with me. I might be eleven but I'm not an ignorant child. If you read my file, if you know anything of my life you know what me and my father have already been through in the muggle world. You above all other people, sir, can relate to what I went through there. I know you know what it's like to know you are different, to know you are meant for something else; something greater, but been denied that chance all your life. This is my chance, sir, and I'll be damned if you think you are going to take it away from me so easily. I have a right to learn here and become at least able to protect myself in some way. You may think it foolish but I am first of my class already. Just ask any of my professors! There is nothing I want to understand more than this. I will go against your ministry if you dare-"

"Enough," Harry Potter said simply. It wasn't demand or a rude interruption, just a quiet statement. He sighed deeply as he looked about the room at the portraits and the decorations, "we will go along with Sir Hotspur's plans for now. You will still need to get in touch with Mr. Harlow and get him to sign the necessary papers, Hotspur. As for who will be in charge of these proceedings I will leave it in your hands, Headmaster, with Sir Hotspur or your apprentice presence when they can spare it. But I'm pretty sure most times you will be studying her on your own."

Headmaster Wood, Alexander Sweyn and Sir Hotspur nodded in agreement. Minister Shacklebolt watched harry Potter with silent reproach.

Harry Potter rubbed his eyes and continued, "As for you, Miss Harlow, I will say this only once. The only reason you are getting your way is because I fear we are running out of time for rational solutions to this matter and you are correct, strangely but surely we share a similar past. But, if you ever threaten to intentionally defy the ministry or my judgment in my presence, you will be held accountable for your actions. This is not a game to me. I am head of the auror department."

Lola tried not to smile but it slipped right out anyway, "right, well you should know that I plan to become an auror myself, sir. Maybe we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the future."

Harry Potter looked about to reply but held his tongue. He silently headed to the green flames and disappeared. Headmaster Wood let himself smile as soon as Mr. Potter was gone. He threw some fresh floo powder in the fireplace.

"Well I guess that is the end of this for now," Minister Shacklebolt finally commented, "I wish you all the best on your future endeavors." He shook hands with all in the room, including Lola and left through the flames. As soon as they were gone the sunlight brightening up the room was evident and the remaining people in the office breathed an audible sigh of some sort of relief.

"About time my brilliance is recognized," Sir Hotspur commented with a pompous but silly look of pride on his face. Alexander smiled for the first time that day. Sir Hotspur's dark gaze fell on Lola, "I'm glad you noticed it, Miss Harlow."

"I want to get to the bottom of this just as badly as you do, sir," Lola commented as she watched the two aurors with a knowing smile on her face.

Sir Hotspur did not seem to notice, "Well that's all well and good but this will not be an easy task ahead of us,"

"No, but do not worry, Lola," Alexander chimed in, "not any more than you probably are already. We will try to be here as often as possible. Headmaster Wood, whenever you have the schedule ready I would most appreciate it."

"Of course, Alexander. Now I really think Miss Harlow should be getting to sleep," Headmaster wood said as he led the aurors to the fireplace.

Alexander nodded and hugged Lola goodbye tightly before leaving. Sir Hotspur gave her a long look and a curt nod as he disappeared through the green flames as well, it was the most emotion he had ever expressed in front of her. Headmaster Wood watched the green flames die before turning to Lola with a wide grin on his young but roughed face.

"I most enjoyed your speech," he began playfully, "especially the little chime about you being head of your class,"

"Well, I had to make myself sounds formidable, it's Harry freakin' Potter over there, and if his sons and my dreams are any evidence, he is no fool." Lola revealed feeling absolutely comfortable with the smiling Headmaster. He laughed hardily.

"Come on, I'll escort you to your rooms, and don't tell me it is not necessary and that it will be embarrassing, believe me, I have heard it all before," Headmaster Wood said. She willingly let him lead her to the dungeons where her comfy bed awaited her.

* * *

_Well, what do you think? What is wrong with Lola? Is Harry Potter all you'd thought he'd be? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!! POR FAVOR!_


	11. Chapter 11: Quidditch and the Potters

Whelp its been a long time so i thought i would stop waiting for reviews (sigh...) and just update the story.

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It was a few mornings later when Scorpius and Lola were met with a very peculiar breakfast at the Slytherin table. They ate and talked about their Potions class coming up soon when they were met with the strange sight of an astounded Al Potter. He came silently, which was very odd for him, to their part of the table, sat down and stared without stirring at an insignificant point behind them with his tiny mouth open wide in shock and his green eyes full of confusion. Lola and Scorpius knew he was awaiting their questioning.

"Well," Scorpius began, begrudgingly, "what happened, then?"

Al's perplexed green eyes fell on Scorpius.

"…you will never believe it," he said, finally closing his mouth and licking his lips, eyes still full of doubt.

"Most likely," Lola mentioned, "but go ahead anyway,"

Al opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He tried again, looking sheepish.

"James came to my class today," he began.

Scorpius rolled his light grey eyes at the name but Lola listened intently, intrigued.

"And?" she questioned.

"…I didn't even know he knew where my classes were… well, he waited till my class was over and then, in front of everyone….he apologized." Al finished, looking more baffled than before as he recalled his tale.

"…for what?" Scorpius questioned, white eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"For everything! For blackmailing me, for calling me names, for all of these things! I didn't know what to make of it myself but…my goodness, the whole bloody world has been turned upside down!" Al said as he began to butter his croissant. Lola could not believe it. Had James done this just because she had told him to? What was he thinking?

"He blackmailed you, the git. What was he holding on you?"Scorpius asked as he finished his breakfast and wiped some strawberry jam off his face.

Al faltered, but Lola chimed in, "Something about being the one who accidentally destroyed Lily's, his little sister's dolls, right Al? Wow, that James sure is a strange one."

"He said one thing I thought was even stranger than his apology," Al began.

"What was that?" Scorpius asked.

"He said, as I walked away all confused and all, 'oi, don't forget to come watch the game this afternoon, bring all your little friends.' Just like that, oi and all! I never thought my brother would ever invite me to one of his quidditch games. Maybe Victoire or Fred but never James." Al said as he ate quickly to catch up with Lola and Scorpius who had already finished.

"Your cousins are on the Gryffindor team too, then?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah, mate, you willing to go watch our Slytherin housemates get their arses handed to them this afternoon? It is the first game of the year."Al said as he wiped himself clean. They all got up and headed for their classes.

"What makes you think we are going to lose, Potter?" a voice behind them mocked. They turned to see Jove Goldstorm, Aachen Bloom, and Leslie LaRuse standing behind them in their Slytherin quidditch gear, ready to go. Aachen had been the one to ask the question.

Al smiled embarrassed but humble, "Well, I hate to break it to you, mates, but my cousin Victoire has been kicking your arses for seven years now. I just like to place my bet on those with the better odds, no offense."

For the first time Lola had ever seen, Aachen smiled, "well, you dear cousin doesn't have good ol' Teddy Lupin to watch her back for her anymore," Aachen said as he strode closer to Al, "you should have faith in your housemates, mate." For the first time Lola noticed he had an Irish accent.

Al's face was free and smooth of emotion, "I will wish you luck, then, but I still think my cousin is going to own your arse, mate."

"If you are going to the game I will be watching for you, you better be cheering us on , Potter," Aachen said as he passed Al, pressing very close to him in the process.

Al watched them go before saying, "I'll pray for you!"

Scorpius shrugged it off and headed for class. He waved Lola to come hurry up. Lola leaned in close to Al's ear, "was it just me or was Aachen Bloom just flirting with you?"

Al laughed, "It was just you, sinner."

"We are going to that game," Lola said as she hurried up to catch up with Scorpius, "we were invited after all."

Al smiled wickedly and waved them goodbye as he headed to his own class. Lola finally caught up to Scorpius, who looked bothered.

"What's wrong, Scorpie?" Lola teased.

"…people treat us so strangely," Scorpius mumbled.

"Come again?" Lola asked as she smiled.

"First James and now Aachen, they would have never talked to us before…there must be something in the water today," Scorpius commented as they sank deeper into the castle grounds towards their Potions class.

"Maybe it is the spirit of quidditch, mate?" Lola offered.

"…possibly, that or everyone is getting ready to milk us for all we are worth," Scorpius muttered as he took his seat.

"What do you mean, Scorpius?"

"I mean," He said, turning to her with his light grey eyes serious, "they have started to try to use us for our celebrity. I mean, Potters are Potters."

"And Malfoys are Malfoys and Harlows are Harlows, Scorpius, we were invited too, you know. I'm not the child of a celebrity." Lola commented as she shifted through her books.

"But you are pretty and everyone seems to gawk at you whether you are with us or not," Scorpius mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Really," Lola said, smiling, "I've never noticed,"

"I have," Scorpius began; his grey eyes watched her for a reaction, "especially that foul, loathsome little git, James Potter."

Lola turned to him, "not you too, Scorpius. Surely Al's paranoia isn't contagious. Besides, James isn't that bad, he did take me to the infirmary that one time."

"You like him, don't you?" Scorpius questioned her, head on.

"Scorpius, no," Lola said simply as she turned to her work.

Scorpius waited for Lola to continue talking but when she didn't he turned to his work too, "I don't believe you," he said as their professor walked in.

Professor Harlem Banks was not like most Potions masters Hogwarts had ever had before. She was a tall woman with a seemingly slim silhouette under her thick robes and coverings. She wore a full hijab with matching Jameh and shalvar. In other words she wore a traditional Indian head covering that framed her coffee colored face. With this usually colorful head covering she wore a long dress, a Jameh, that flowed down to about her middle calves. From there, her tight, legging like pants, called shalvar, covered the rest of her calves down to her ankle from view. Simple matching sandals went along with the whole garb that caught the attention of anyone passing her by in the hallways of Hogwarts. Her clothes were always colorful, bejeweled and decorated superbly. She wore no earring or jewels herself, but the protruding grip of a large sword-like machete bounced on her left hip, while her oak wand stood out on her right, both held there by a leather strap. No one ever wanted to anger her.

"Today we will be making a brew of interesting naissance," Professor Banks said as she flicked her wand out of her leather strap, "open your _Magical Draughts and Potions _book to page four hundred and fifty six, please."

The class obeyed. While most in the class found the subject interesting, others were just too afraid to disturb Professor Banks. Lola wanted to tell Scorpius he was wrong but she thought if she gave it too much thought he would think she was hiding something, which technically, she was. She wanted to tell him James Potter only kept her secret and that he was not her own personal secret, but she much rather not risk angering Professor Banks.

* * *

As they headed out to the Slytherin tower on the frosty afternoon, Lola, Al and Scorpius could feel the ground shaking with chants and stomps from the already filling stadium.

"Looks like everyone is coming to see the game," Al mentioned as his green eyes scanned the other towers, "even the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw towers are filling up."

Scorpius and Lola nodded. It seemed the whole school was coming.

"Did you think we were going to miss the event of the term?" a familiar voice called behind them. They turned around to see May scrounging up the hillside with Rose close behind her. Rose had been the one to speak. While Lola and Scorpius looked confused at her talking to them at all, Al simply smiled.

"Don't you two have class?" Al asked as the May and Rose caught up to them.

"Well, of course we do," May said, she was dressed in full on Hufflepuff regalia, "but seeing as how we plan to be part of the Hufflepuff team next year we thought we'd come scope out our biggest competition."

"Oh are we really that good this year?" Al asked.

"Not Slytherin, Albus, Gryffindor," Rose said, matter-of-factly, "They haven't lost a cup in over eight years! You should know that seeing as how half the team is part of our family."

"So we are family again?" Al asked, smiling sheepishly. Rose rolled her eyes but held a sliver of a smile on her cherry lips as she and May passed them to head to the Hufflepuff tower. Al watched them go with a happy look on his calm face.

"Yep," Scorpius mumbled, "definitely something in the water."

The Slytherin tower was full to the brim of all year students. Lola, Al and Scorpius ducked under their housemates swinging arms and flowing green and silver scarves.

"We need to get some of those!" Lola suggested as they settled in the front lines of the quaking crowd.

"What, some Slytherin regalia or giant arms?" Scorpius mused as his light grey eyes widened at the sight of the field. It was immense! The oval field was massive and green with a small circle of approximately two feet in diameter in its center. At each end there were three hooped goal posts of different heights, surrounded by a scoring area. On the other side the Gryffindor Tower was just as packed and lively.

"Bugger, the whole school is here!" Scorpius blurted out.

"I told you this was a brilliant idea!" Al said smirking as the two teams erupted from out of nowhere and flew about their towers and the field. Aachen Bloom smirked at them before heading towards the field.

Lola leaned close to Al, "he smiled at you," she mused with a mocking, sing-song voice.

"He smiled at the Slytherin Tower," Al mocked back but Lola noticed his blushing.

"Tell me you wouldn't like to snog him?" Lola said as she looked about to make sure no one was listening.

Al remained quiet with a death glare aimed her way and an embarrassed smile on his lips.

"What are you two whispering about?" Scorpius questioned, his innocent and curious face turned to them.

"Look at this field!" Al said attempting to distract Scorpius.

The game began suddenly and the crowd followed it closely. First a tall, slender and vicious girl with flowing strawberry blonde hair in the Gryffindor team, who by Al's exclamations Lola took to be Victoire, scored against the Slytherin team within minutes.

"You can't cheer for both teams!" Scorpius exclaimed.

Al giggled, "Watch me, woo hoo, go Victoire!"

"She is beautiful," Lola commented, watching the girl zoom around the Gryffindor tower, causing it to erupt in frenzy.

"I would say it's the Weasley blood in us," Al commented, "but my dear cousin is 1/8 veela."

Lola remembered now, Victoire was the oldest child of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. She smiled at Al and continued playing. It seemed the whole of Gryffindor was set on winning against their rivals Slytherin. All except a flustered James Potter who hung about the outsides of the field. At first Lola figured he was the seeker for the Gryffindor team but he was in no pursuit of any snitch.

"What's wrong with James?" Lola asked, all three turned their attention to him. When he noticed their stare he smiled brilliantly and smacked a bludger right into Leslie LaRuse.

Al tried to keep his amusement and giddiness under cover among the Slytherins around him but he shrugged at Lola and turned back to the game, "he looks all right to me," Al mentioned, his green eyes darting everywhere trying to follow the game.

"Gee, he really likes quidditch," Lola mentioned as she turned to Scorpius. Scorpius only glared at her with raised eyebrows.

Lola sighed, "What is it?"

Scorpius motioned towards James.

Lola laughed, "Oh shut up, a girl can't even mention a lad without being in love with him, is that it?"

"Boy, British slang does not sound right in an American accent," Al joked as he wrapped an arm around Scorpius and drew his attention to the game. Just then, luckily, Jove Goldstorm scored for Slytherin. The crowd went wild!

"Goldstorm: bring the thunder, bring the rain! Slytherin: we bring the thunder, we bring the rain!" the Slytherin crowd cheered.

It was all so exciting! Lola could hardly follow the madness that exploded from the field. Seeing as how it mattered very little to her who won or not she settled her dark grey gaze on James Potter. Every once in a while he would look up to the Slytherin tower and catch her gaze. He would always smile at her. She did not want to admit it but maybe Al and Scorpius were right. Maybe James Potter had a crush on her. Just then James knocked a bludger in the direction of a Slytherin player who happened to be right in their direction. The Slytherin player dodged it and the bludger barely missed Lola and the rest of the Slytherins behind her. She looked out to see James and his teammates laughing hardily at the frightened Slytherin tower. Lola reconsidered; he probably only enjoyed the attention she gave him. If he had her he had Al and Scorpius and Lola was not about to be so easily used. The rest of the game she gave him no attention.

Except in the last moments. The Slytherin seeker, Aachen Bloom, was gaining speed on the snitch which he had finally spotted. The score was too close to call and Slytherin needed the catch. James had a bludger aimed directly at Aachen and the whole stadium waited for the inevitable hit. Lola spared James a glance and he happened to be looking right at her…waiting for something. Lola watched him completely confused at his actions. James face turned into a strange and wicked look and he hit the bludger with all his might. It flew inches too far to the left of Aachen but the miss was not distraction enough. Aachen caught the snitch!

The Slytherin tower was full of mad joy as it rocked with screams and cheers. But Lola could only watch James. His teammates patted him on the back goodheartedly although they were clearly disappointed but his brown eyes were on Lola and she could only stare back.

Al wrapped her in an unexpected hug and broke their contact, "We won! That was bloody blinding, can you believe it!??"

"Huh?" Lola could only say.

"Lola, bleeding hell, we blatant won!" Al yelled as he smiled and joined other Slytherins in cheers.

"No more games for him," Lola whispered to Scorpius who was nervously smiling and avoiding the mad scrambling about him. As they headed down towards the field May and Rose joined them. Rose walked along side them with a shocked and open mouthed face, that humorously resembled Al earlier, while May came down smiling.

"That was brilliant!" May cheered as Al wrapped an arm around her.

"Wasn't it? These fools can't tell a great match when they see one. I'm glad someone down here understands!" Al mused.

"I never thought Aachen would get away with such a bold move," May said.

"Ah, miss May, you and I both seem to be the only ones to get it," Al said as he reached the field. Many Slytherins were congratulating their fellow housemates. Few Gryffindors were there to give their housemates moral support. Aachen was all smiles as he was still trying to catch his breath.

Al playfully punched him in the gut, "That was brilliant, mate! Really, the tops!"

Aachen straightened up, "I had to do something to get you to cheer for us."

"Oi!" James voice called. Aachen turned to see the Gryffindor team coming up to them, "…well done." James said.

Aachen and the rest of his team looked stunned, "…thanks," he managed to say, shaking hands with James.

"Looks like we are going to have to train harder," Victoire said, her strawberry blonde hair flowing in the wind.

"Your score was rather brilliant, Victoire, I'm Jove, by the way," Jove said as he blushed. Leslie LaRuse elbowed him.

Victoire only smiled and turned to James, "You had something to say, Jamie?"

"Right," James said, "we already planned a bit of a party for the start of the season, you all are invited…if you want."

"Really?' Jove asked.

Aachen threw him a warning glare, "That's very polite and all but-"

"We'd love to," Leslie LaRuse said as she flashed James a smile, "As captain, I say it is a grand idea."

Now Aachen and Jove both looked confused.

"Brilliant," James said smiling, he turned to Al, Scorpius, Lola, May and Rose, "you are all invited as well. It will be quite a bash."

With that both teams left for their changing rooms.

"What in the hell was that?" Aachen questioned.

"Like I have to explain myself to you two brainless idiots," Leslie said as she huffed away from Aachen and Jove.

"Your girlfriend is mad," Aachen said towards Jove.

"Uh, she's not my girlfriend," Jove said as he watched Victoire go.

"Well that explains everything," Aachen said as he turned to Al, "so; you are going to cheer for the winners from now on, right?"

"Depends on if you keep winning, mate, see you at the party," Al said as he turned and made his way towards Hogwarts. Lola, Scorpius, May and Rose went with him.

"You know," Lola began, "you are quite charming when you wish to be, Al Potter."

"Ah, it's all part of the illusion," Al said wiggling his hands about his face.

"I've never been to a party before," Scorpius said.

"Me either," May chimed in, "what should I wear?"

"That's the least of our worries," Rose said, "Gryffindors and Slytherins in one room will be ghastly. This cannot end well."

"Our worries?" Al said, smiling obnoxiously at her.

"Well I was invited too, you know," Rose said, crossing her arms dramatically.

Al laughed, "I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with us, dearest cousin,"

"Oh, Albus, don't be so superficial. You may be a Slytherin but you are still my cousin," she said with a wry smile on her face, "now let's plan how we are all going to survive this night."

They all smiled and walked together toward the castle. Lola knew that this day had brought great changes to their time in Hogwarts and she was truly grateful for the quidditch game. But she knew James had missed on purpose, and she was determined to find out why.

* * *

thoughts? comments? then REVIEW please!


	12. Chapter 12: Shadows

This chapter will be full of cute fluffyness, enjoy.

* * *

Lola fretted with her hair. Although it was straight it was thick and voluminous and tended to be quite a hassle to pin up. She finally gave up on the ebony locks and met with Scorpius and Al in the Slytherin lobby.

"You look exactly the same you did an hour ago," Scorpius exclaimed.

"Clearly, you know nothing of girlhood," Lola said as she flew past them towards the dungeon doors.

"Thank goodness for that," Scorpius joked as they left to go meet with Rose and May in the great hall. It was about eight o'clock and the hallways were dimming down. James had mentioned the party was going to be in Professor Banks, the head of Gryffindor's classroom, in the dungeons so they had no worries about the party getting out of hand. They met with Rose and May who had just finished eating.

"About time," Rose said, "we have been waiting here for ten minutes."

"You might want to brush your teeth before we go," Lola teased as Rose clutched her mouth, "just kidding, Rose, you really have to stop taking me so seriously."

"Dually noted," Rose venomously replied as they headed towards the dungeons. Lola felt bad for always messing with the girl so she tried to be polite for a change.

"Your hair looks amazing, Rose," Lola said.

"As oppose to looking dreadful all other times?" Rose said, her brown eyes livid. She marched in front of them.

"Not what I meant at all," Lola said as she caught up with her, "what I meant was we should try to be civil with each other. It is really rather useless being angry all the time."

Rose watched her for a while before replying, "Fine then, we shall begin anew. But no more jokes at my expense."

"Deal," Lola said and they shook hands.

"You two done being drama queens? Good then, we are here. Try to be on your best behavior, you two, don't embarrass me." Al said as he rushed in before either Lola or Rose could slap him upside the head. They all entered the room and were surprised by the unusual décor. Professor Bank's room was covered with ringlets of lights in all the school's team's colors. There were cookies and punch and students from every house and their respective quidditch teams. Al had left them quickly and headed straight for Aachen and his teammates.

"Well, that was quick," Lola muttered to herself as she headed for the punch.

"Oh look, Scorpius, wizard's chest!" May called out as she dragged Scorpius to a far away table. Rose was mingling with some Hufflepuff quidditch players nearby Lola. Lola took the moment alone and headed towards the balcony. There, it was quiet and peaceful. Sipping on her punch she watched the night darken further and the stars shine brilliantly. If there was one thing California and Hogwarts had in common it was there starry night sky. It always made Lola feel not too far from home.

"Hello," James said as he joined her in the balcony.

"I'm only going to ask this once, James," Lola began; she had been expecting him, "what is it that you want with me?"

"Right to the point then," James mumbled, "that's another thing I like about you."

"You do not like me, James, you are far too haughty for that," Lola said as she turned to face James, "but we both know that. So, answer my question truthfully if you respect me at all."

"Whoa," James said as he leaned on the balcony porch and watched the night sky, "dramatic as always, I see."

"I'm not into this whole game thing your family seems prone to devour themselves in," Lola shot back.

James chuckled, "touché, well, here is the truth, Miss Harlow. There are few people in this school I can be honest with. Although I enjoy the attention, being Harry Potter's son gains you more fans than actual friends. For some reason I find you very easy to talk with, even when I have to talk about something awkward like my family or my feelings. I just want you in my life, Lola. We can share each other's secrets, like friends."

"And you expect me to believe all that?"

James sighed deeply, "I knew you would react like this,"

"Well, James, you aren't exactly a clear picture," Lola said.

James brown eyes fell heavy on her grey ones, "I don't know how else to get you to believe me. I threw a game just to get to talk to you,"

Lola faltered, "Well… it's not enough,"

James smiled unexpectedly, "you are so high maintenance. It must be a family trait,"

"That's really not funny," Lola seethed as a cool breeze blew. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'm sorry," James muttered as he turned back to the night sky, "…did you know?"

"…know what?"

"That he was your grandfather?" James asked.

"I'm not having this conversation with you, James."

"Fine then," he said as he headed back into the party, "but think about it. Who else can you have it with? Till next time, Lola."

Lola rolled her eyes and turned back to the night to keep from staring at him. He was so blatant yet so elusive. It truly annoyed her to her very core.

"So the truth comes out," Rose's voice startled her. Lola turned to see Rose with an unexpected, wicked smile on her face. Had she overheard them?

"Rose-" Lola began, wide eyed and nervous.

"You like my cousin," Rose interrupted, "I should have known seeing as how he always finds a way to mention you."

Lola sighed in deep relief, "Oh, good, well, not good. No, I don't like James for the millionth time,"

"Right," Rose said as she finished her punch, "just don't let Al catch on. He's a bit of a wanker when it comes to matters of the heart."

"There is no matter to discuss, Rose, do not push our newly found friendship," Lola warned. Rose only laughed and went back to the party. Lola finished her own punch and went back in too.

"There you are," a blushing Al said as he dragged her back to the balcony, "where have you been, I have been looking all over for you. Well, guess what?"

"…what?"

"I just had the longest conversation with Aachen," Al revealed, out of breath, "and he suggested I train up for next year. He thinks I would be great for the quidditch team! He said I have a 'nice build'."

Lola smiled, "I told you he liked you,"

"I don't know about that," Al said, smiling, "but I like where this is going. He is a bit haughty and superficial but he is a fourth year."

"Oh because you are so clearly grounded," Lola teased.

"Shut up, eh? Where's Scorpius?" Al asked.

"With May, probably holding up a crowd with their intense wizard's chest." Lola said.

"They are such dorks," Al said, his face was bright and happy. Lola was about to speak when a sudden silence filled the party. They looked at each other and quickly entered the party to see May holding a wand in her brother, Lysander's face. Scorpius was on the ground.

"Enough, you two," James voice said as he pulled Lysander away from May and Scorpius. Lola and Al headed over to the scene.

"What happened?" Lola asked as she tried to help Scorpius up. Scorpius refused her help and angrily left the party. Lola and Al rushed after him.

"Slow down, mate," Al said as he and Lola fought to catch up with Scorpius.

"Just leave me alone," Scorpius said as he punched the wall.

"Scorpius!" Lola said as she pulled him away from the wall, he pushed her away.

"This is never going to end, Lola,"' Scorpius screamed, "I am always going to be treated like scum."

"What happened, mate?" Al asked, his green eyes full with concern and worry.

"I don't know," Scorpius confessed, "I just…we were playing chess and they called me a cheating death eater. I just want to go home." He said as he slid down the wall to rest on the floor.

"…I'm so sorry, mate, we should have been there," Al said.

"You two aren't my protectors. Besides you can't stop people from speaking the truth. My father was a death eater," Scorpius said, his light grey eyes lost in shame and disappointment.

"But he isn't anymore, and you are not your father," Lola said as she settled herself next to Scorpius. Al joined them on the other side of Scorpius.

"Yeah, ol' chum, we all got to live with these shadows, you know. But they cannot mask your light if you let it shine brightly instead of dimming down for all the fools about."

Scorpius turned to Al and smiled slightly, "that was really deep, Al,"

Al scoffed, "well I am a flaming bender, I am bound to say something perfect and poetic."

Scorpius eyes grew wide, "Really?"

"Really," Al said, looking scared, proud and nervous all at the same time.

"Hmm," was all Scorpius said.

"That's it? Nothing else? And all this time you thought he would shun you," Lola said.

"You knew before I did?" Scorpius questioned.

"Of course I did, I know everything," Lola said, matter-of-factly. Scorpius, Al, and Lola laughed quietly for a while.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Lola said as she jumped up and helped Al and Scorpius to their feet.

"We don't have to leave because of me," Scorpius said.

"Tis' a lame scene anyway," Al said and they all headed towards their rooms.

That night Lola thought about what Al had said about shadows. She had wanted to tell them then everything but as usual she thought it still too early or inappropriate to mention. Would she ever be able to feel comfortable enough tell them the truth? She had wanted to so badly, but something inside her told her it would be the biggest mistake of her life. She wondered if she would ever shine brightly enough to dispel her grandfather's silent but imminent shadow. She fell asleep with the thoughts.

* * *

"You know for a couple of Slytherins you three are madly courageous," Anjali said as they all waited for Professor Bloom to arrive for their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. It seemed that in a matter of hours the whole first year class was aware of what had happened at the party last night between Scorpius, Lola, Al, May and her brothers. And somehow now, at the end of the day, even fourth years were giving them strange looks.

"What are you talking about? I did all the work," May mused as she kept her dreamy eyes on her work.

"You could have gotten yourself seriously injured," Nicolas Longbottom mumbled as he tried to look unbothered and fiddled with his books and wand.

"Bollocks, my brother's magical abilities feign in comparison to a street rat, you really think they could have done something to me?" May replied, very matter-of-fact like.

"…You have no idea how resourceful Gryffindors can be, May. Next time I suggest you let people fight their own battles," Nicolas said, eyeing Scorpius strangely. Scorpius just ignored him and kept reading his book.

"Suggestion noted and ignored, Nicolas," May replied, she smiled up at Lola, "it was rather dashing of me though, wasn't it? I feel like a champion of some sort."

Lola giggled, "You are outrageously adorable,"

"Why thank you, madam," May mused back.

"I have to say I agree with Nicolas on this one, May," Jasminder chimed in, "they are second years. You really should respect your elders." At first Lola thought she was joking but Jasminder's serious expression erupted a flood of laughter from those involved in the conversation. Jasminder rolled her dark eyes and scoffed, turning her attention back to her work.

"Elders, Jasminder? Blimey," Al said between giggles.

"Oh, shut it, Potter," Jasminder said, a sliver of a smile on her dark lips.

"You know, maybe we were placed in the improper house, mates," Lola began, "I mean, clearly we are far too courageous and loyal to be cunning or ambitious. It's not like we play jokes on our fellow first years all the time or practice hexes, um, I mean, charms inappropriately at leisure on those who often deny our Slytherin ways… maybe you are on to something, Jas."

"…what do you mean practice charms on us?" Jasminder asked, looking grim.

Lola leaned in close to her, very serious, "well, you see, Jas, me and the boys like to sometimes create concoctions like lizard's hurl or backwater oyster shakes and spill them into said other first year mates' hair products, you know, just to see if little creatures start coming out of their heads…oi, what's that there?" She said as she reached for Jasminder's clean hairline. Jasminder screamed and started shaking her head ferociously. Lola and Al were lost in laughter.

"Jasminder, I can't believe you fell for that!" Anjali said as she chuckled along with the sly Slytherins.

"Oh, shut up, Anjali," was all Jasminder could say as she brushed off imaginary creatures from her brown skin.

"Oh, Anji, what are we to do with her? She is far too gullible for her own good." Al mused.

"I do not know why you all seem to find this a laughing matter at all," Nicolas said, his voice and face grim. Al rolled his eyes as everyone quieted to hear Nicolas, "you are just making trouble for us all. They treat us like one cohesive unit."

"Hey, it is not our fault Lorcan and Lysander felt like being gits that night," Al began, "they lost their own Gryffindor points, mate,"

"I meant the first year class, idiot," Nicolas responded.

"What did you call me?" Al questioned. Lola rolled her eyes, sighed and held Al back by his shoulder.

"You heard me. Now do try to control the impulse to make us all look indecent before you get us all hexed." Nicolas seethed.

"WHAT?" Al said as he tried to reach for his wand, "I'll show you hex,"

"Nicolas," May said, "you are too bold!"

"No, May, I am not getting tortured by some sadistic older gits just because you all are always starting fights with them. It is not fair for the rest of us."

"You are exaggerating," Lola said.

"Really? Who here has been threatened or pushed or hit already, just today, because of the squabble last night?" Nicolas asked aloud. The whole room had been watching them anyway. Timidly eight or nine hands shot up in the air. Nicolas turned back to them, his face serious, "one too many if you ask me."

Lola looked about at the shy faces whose hands were barely up. None of them made eye contact.

"Well good thing nobody asked your opinion," Al said as he brushed Lola off and sat down in his seat.

Luckily Professor Bloom strolled in looking cheery and embarrassed, "forgive my tardiness but I would very much like all of you to turn to page eight hundred and twenty four, please," he said in his thick, French accent.

The students slowly followed his directions. Professor Bloom watched his students curiously, suddenly aware of the tension in the room, but continued with the lesson anyway.

After class Lola turned to Al, "you really must stop instigating people, Albus," she said.

"Ah, Albus," Al said, "You only call me that when you are angry."

"I'm not angry with you it is just that…can you believe how many people are being bullied by those gits?"

"…no wonder we couldn't concentrate in class today," Al said, "we all were stuck on the same thought."

They stood in the stairway by a large window that revealed the gray morning. Silently, they brooded.

"We can't just sit down and take it," May said.

"It may be best though," Jasminder said as she flipped her dark braid back.

"No, it will not make them stop," Al began, "we have to stand up for ourselves, as a class, you know. They were probably bullied themselves as first years and are just carrying on the dumb tradition. It is not like I am not scared. No offense, May, but Lorcan sort of has crazy eyes and Lysander is giant,"

"None taken, I know I'm the pretty one," May said smiling.

"Well anyway my point is, lying there and taking it should not be our first choice. We should fight back," Al finished. They were all quiet for a while.

Anjali smiled, "blimey, Al, you are such a Gryffindor,"

They all laughed as Al jokingly dropped his mouth open and raised his dark eyebrows dramatically in disbelief of her comment.

"Well, then, Anji, let me rephrase…we should get even," Al said, a wicked smile on his lips.

James Potter wrapped an arm around his little brother's neck and jokingly held him there," not a good look, little brother, but I do applaud your bravery…you would have been a dashing Gryffindor."

"…why does everyone keep saying that? Is it annoy Al Potter day?" Al grumbled.

"No worries, brother, I meant it as a compliment," James said as his brown eyes fell wickedly on Lola, "good day, Lola,"

"Hi," she said, ignoring May, Jasminder and Anjali's grins and snickers.

James smiled and turned back to the rest of the group, "seriously though, do not start anything. Whoever gives you trouble next just let me know."

"And what are you going to do, James Potter, charm them?" May asked as her playful eyes darted from James to Lola back and forth. Lola pinched her.

James laughed, "…you will see." He said as he heading up the stairway.

Lola rolled her eyes, "git,"

"Cute git, though," Anjali commented.

"Eww," Al began, "I don't care what my brother says…this could be fun. And we could all do it together. I mean, when was the last time we all did something together?"

"I think it is a terrible idea," Scorpius said as he put his book down and looked everyone in the eyes. He was completely serious, "there are other people in this world than you, Al, and you should learn to respect their wishes and just leave it alone. Nicolas is right."

Before anyone could say anything Scorpius took his book and his things and left. They watched him go quietly.

"…he has been like this ever since the party," Lola commented quietly.

"He must feel awful, stupid Nicolas saw to that," Jasminder said.

Al remained unusually quiet; he simply watched the last spot where Scorpius had been visible on the crook of the stairway.

"You know, though," Anjali began, "what he doesn't know won't hurt him." She finished as she put a small hand on Al's shoulder.

"…and it would be nice having something to look forward to besides school," May mused.

"It is really the only thing we can do to bring order," Jasminder replied.

"You girls," Al simply said as he left. Probably off to find Scorpius, Lola thought.

"Well, what do you think Lola?" Anjali asked. Lola raised a dark eyebrow her way.

"Should we just make this a girl's task then?" Jasminder asked smiling. They all watched her with little smiles on their lips.

"…what are you waiting for some sort of cue to go from me?" Lola questioned.

"What kind of Slytherin are you? Aren't you lot supposed to be leaders?" May questioned.

Lola sighed, "Fine, this is what we are going to do, just us four girls…"

* * *

awww Al and Scorpius are sooo cute and dramatic! what do you think of Nicolas? was he out of line or had a good point? REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13: Unimaginable

**So i haven't updated in a long while but here is a small taste of what is to come.**

* * *

The next couple of days the four girls spent almost completely together after hours**. **They plotted and planned as well as gossiped and joked about everything. Lola had never had girls as friends. When she did have friends in school they were mostly always boys and they never joked or laughed with her like this. She slowly gave in to the love of having girl friends and opened up to them about a lot of things.

"Aw, darling, I hope your father writes to you soon," Anjali said as she ate her chocolate frog.

"I couldn't imagine not talking to my parents for so long," Jasminder commented, "I write to my mum most every day."

"Well that's 'cause Auntie Padma always has something to say," Anjali joked.

"My parents keep to themselves, mostly," May commented, "unless it is about my brothers or I they very rarely take their noses out of their work."

"You aren't much like them are you?" Lola joked along.

"No not very much, I do share a need for order with my father, most likely why I am in Hufflepuff," May said.

"…I think I am only in Slytherin because I begged the hat to put me there," Lola confessed.

"You are very confrontational and I guess some could take that as bravery, but I think you do well in Slytherin with the way you joke about things. You are a natural leader, Lola, you and Al," Anjali commented.

"Aww, thanks!" Lola said.

"Really though, besides if you were in Gryffindor James Potter would have made you his girlfriend by now," Anjali mused.

"Oh do shut up about this now," Lola warned. The girls ignored her as usual.

"I swear every time he sees you it's like he is looking at a piece of cake, he wants you so badly," Jasminder said.

"Eww, you girls are just seeing what he wants you to see," Lola said.

"Is that so?" May questioned.

"Yes, James Potter is a slick little git, believe me," Lola said.

"Oh we believe you alright," Anjali said, "but honestly now, you do not even find him attractive? Not one bit?"

Lola grimaced, "honestly I do not think I will ever think of him that way at all. I mean he is so cocky and there are just way too many sides to him. I don't like people I can't figure out." Lola said.

"You didn't answer my question," Anjali teased.

"I mean he is good looking, I guess."Lola said shrugging and trying to look nonchalant instead of the very nervous that she was.

"Oh Lola, so conservative!" Anjali joked, "I personally think Scorpius is adorable."

"Oh yes he is going to be rather dashing when he grows up, but you know who else is darling? Aachen Bloom, wow, what a body!" May commented.

"I love when he talks," Anjali said and they all giggled.

"You should have read my father's letter when he found out we were friends with Scorpius. He was livid. So was my mum although she didn't say anything to me." Jasminder said.

"…is it really that bad?" Lola asked.

Jasminder tried to smile, "it really is. Our parents were there, you know, it's not easy for them to move on."

May yawned, "we should be getting to bed, though,"

They all packed up their things and quietly made their ways to their rooms. Lola stood outside the dungeons for a while and watched the night grow darker. What would they do if they found out?

She hated this thought process. It always went the same way. Something awful would remind her how she was lying to everyone and how it would all eventually come out and ruin her budding friendships. She would sigh and feel sorry for herself and eventually gloomily let it go for another day. If there was one thing Lola truly hated it was self pity. But she was always prone to it on nights like this when she was not tired and had enough time to think and think.

Sometimes she wished she could just turn her brain off for a while. Her dreams varied these days. If she was not dreaming of Tom Riddle she was seeing those terrible death eaters attack her and her mother again. She dreaded sleep. Still, she managed to find some comfort in the fact that she would be starting her…well…lessons with Headmaster Wood soon and she would see Alexander and Sir Hotspur again. Soon she would have some answers and people to share them with.

There was another bother to add to the list: Harry Potter. Although she respected him deeply for what he had done in his past she did not like the way he looked at her. It was the way those peoples on the streets would stop and gawk at her and her father. She hoped she would not have to see him for a long time. She thought of the hallucination. She used to try to dismiss it from her mind but had found a strange comfort in analyzing it at night. It was almost as if she had her own part in her cure. It was always the same. Tom Riddle, Voldemort, would come to her in his black robes and say one word, come. He would beckon her with his left arm and he would look strong, decisive and adamant. Last time he laughed at her fear. It wasn't a mocking laugh either, it was a true laugh. Lola knew in her heart that if he had known of her father's survival at birth she would be living a far different life now. Tom Riddle would have loved and accepted them. This Lola could feel in her bones.

The dungeon was as it always was, dank and cold. Being here always made her long for her sand colored room, soothing, plushy bed and breezy window. And always for the familiar and comforting heat of California. She knew that no matter how many years she lived here she would always long for it. Her father had two more days to reply to her letter. Lola was done with waiting patiently.

As she got into bed her wrist brushed against the covers and she realized she was wearing her seashell bracelet still. She had not taken it off once since she arrived in Hogwarts. Lying on her bed Lola fiddled with it. She seemed a life time away from that 10th birthday in California. Her father had made the bracelet himself which was extraordinary to her for two reasons: one, her father was always working so him finding the time to make her a gift instead of just buying one meant a lot to her, and two, her father could barely make coffee without a bit of help. It was a miracle he had made something so beautiful and intricate. But thinking of her father at night was like asking for nightmares. She settled into her sheets and closed her eyes.

* * *

Sebastian Harlow had sent in a letter of approval to Sir Hotspur. In turn, Sir Hotspur had informed Headmaster Wood who sent Lola a very discreet Owl letter informing her on their first lesson. The letter simply said follow my footsteps at 12:30. She did not know how but Headmaster Wood seemed to be aware that she possessed the Marauder's Map. But this really did not bother her, what did bother her was that her father still had not answered her own letter. Who did he think he was, ignoring her like this? Before the lesson she planned to discuss the matter with Headmaster Wood for certain this time. She did not feel it would be awkward anymore between her and the headmaster. Ever since that night he had found her in the hallways she realized something. Out of all the people that new about her ancestry, Headmaster Wood and James Potter were the only ones who still treated her like a regular person. Alexander Sweyn and Sir Hotspur were good to her but she could still see an apprehension in their eyes when they spoke to her. It was not disturbing but it was palpable and it bothered her more and more each time.

But she figured it had to do with the fact that she was aware of their affair. It must have been so awkward for them to come see her and try to be professional around her when she, Alexander and Hotspur were all aware of each other's personal business. She secretly hoped that was why there was apprehension. Although having mixed feelings of the ordeal Lola was excited to see Alexander again. Apprehension or not, he was still a darling and she very much enjoyed his company. His presence would make it incredibly less awkward and uncomfortable than the lesson would be without him there. She had no idea what to expect, and as she dwelled on it, the less excited and more nervous she got about it all. But when 12:25 came about she slipped out of her bed, fully dressed, and headed out of the dungeons quietly.

She still felt a bit of excitement at this point but it was quickly shrinking. She illuminated her way with her wand and summoned the marauder's Map.

She whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good,"

The map revealed itself and showed empty corridors…then she saw Headmaster Oliver Wood's footprints making their way up to the seventh floor. Lola followed him quickly yet silently through the deserted looking school. She reached the seventh floor and saw him ahead of her, waiting patiently by seemingly innocent tapestry. Why were they here?

She was about to ask aloud but a door appeared before them out of thin air. Of course! The room of requirement!

Headmaster Wood chuckled at Lola's lit face and opened the door for her. Lola bowed her head in thanks and entered into a very strange and bland looking space. The walls, ceiling, and floor were a stark white and there were little bits of furniture and machinery about it. Lola's dark grey eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness quickly. There, between the whiteness and the machinery were Sir Hotspur and Alexander.

Alexander smiled widely at her and stood up to meet her. Sir Hotspur looked about bored to death with his head resting languidly on his left palm, while his right hand drummed idly on his knee.

Alexander hugged her, "Looking good, Lola,"

"You too, mate…what's wrong with him?" Lola asked.

"Oh don't mind it, sir Hotspur has just not adjusted to being up so late. It's past his bedtime." Alexander joked.

Sir Hotspur scoffed, "yours too…" he mumbled as he sighed and got up to meet them, "Let's get this thing started then. Miss Harlow, will you please make your way to this dark room."

"…I'm sorry I'm just… how is this going to work? What are we going to do?" Lola asked.

"Ah, you are very much like your father;" Hotspur said sleepily, "step one: the observed, that's you, will fall asleep in this very magic sensitive room. step two: using a very light form of legilimency the observers, Alexander, Headmaster Wood and myself will take turns throughout the night attempting to diverge into your dreams if they are dreams at all. That is pretty much all we are doing for this first lesson."

Lola nodded and made her way slowly to the room. It was white like all the rest of the larger room but it seemed so ominous to her. She tried to keep herself from shaking.

"Lola," she heard Alexander call, she turned back to face him, "it will be alright, no matter what happens, know that we are all here to take care of you."

She tried to smile and look reassured but she could feel her entire chest tightening into a thick knot. In the room she found a very comfortable looking bed with little girly pillows and plushy blankets. She tried to look grateful as she climbed into the childish mess and attempted to relax. She was happy she had not been able to sleep earlier due to the anticipation for now she knew it would be a matter a moments before her mind gave into the sweet lull of sleep…it had been a long day…

She was back in her mother's house. The light was different; it was purple, bluish dark and heavy. She was running, Lola was running hand in hand with her mother. She had never held her mother's hand before. She could not remember any other time she had ever held her dark, little hand. The evil witch was gaining on them. Lola could feel the evil hand clawing at her clothes on her back. She could feel the evil and unkempt nails barely missing her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shiver. But Lola did not have the breath for any of that; they were running too fast.

Then there was nowhere to go. They were chased into a corner. Her mother pulled Lola backwards into her chest. She could feel and hear her heart beating against her head. So her mother had a heart after all? It wasn't real. Lola knew that it was a dream; she knew it was a memory, but she could feel her mother's grasp on her shoulders and she could feel her distraught heartbeat.

The witch before them cackled, "Give her to us now."

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" was all her mother could say through her utter fear. Her hands were digging into Lola's shoulders. She wanted to scream but she was too scared.

The witch smirked and drew her wand up, "so you want to do this the hard way…"

"GET OUT!" her mother said, she couldn't scream anymore, she was just as scared as Lola.

The witch's black eyes grew wide with amusement and she lifted her head back in a louder cackle. Lola saw the scar on her neck. It stood out like a gruesome smile upon the witch's pale and dirty neck, "STUPEFY!"

Lola fell to the ground hard. She tried to stand up but her mother's petrified body fell upon her. She knew now it had been petrified but then…then she thought she was dead. All her Harry Potter knowledge from her dreams had failed her in the fearful moment and all she could feel was darkness explode inside of her. She threw her mother off of her and she was on her feet.

"Now don't be a bother, little girl," she heard the witch say. But before she could point her wand Lola's way she cracked. Lola cracked open. And every pain or frustration she had ever kept inside busted right out of her. She burst in flames it seemed and her opponents went flying across the room, their robes torn to pieces and their masks cracked. Lola had never felt so alive. In her moment of fear and desperation, her darkness had saved her.

Alexander gently shook Lola awake. She was breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Did, did you see all of that?" was the first thing Lola asked.

"We saw enough," she heard Sir Hotspur say, "that scar on her neck is all too familiar, miss Harlow. We have identified one of your attackers…your dreams are turning out to be very useful."

"…so they are just dreams?" Lola asked as she got out of the bed and stretched. The sun was rising with her.

"That was, Miss Harlow, we have still to encounter your more… worrisome kind." Sir Hotspur said as he handed her a file. She saw a picture of a girl about seventeen years old with two, long black braids and a placid expression in her black eyes. A long, twisting scar was perceivable on her lithe neck.

"That was the last photo ever taken of Philomena Ocean, or as she is better known as, the Black Shark. You, your mother and her maid were lucky to have lived. Most that see her perish. You can read up on her file if you want."

Lola stared at the photo; it looked nothing like the witch she had seen. But then again the picture clicked to the file she held must have been taken more than ten years ago.

"She was one of the suspects on our list," Alexander said.

"Gentlemen, Lola has class in an hour," Headmaster Wood said through a yawn.

Alexander and Hotspur nodded. Alexander turned to Lola before he left, "I sent you a reply with the file of all the rest of the suspects in it. Read it carefully."

"Right, goodbye, Alexander,"

"Goodbye, Lola, have a good day in classes today,"

Lola quickly made her way to her room and fell upon her bed. She didn't even say goodbye to Sir Hotspur or Headmaster Wood. All she could think of was of that moment. She always relieved it the same way. She figured she didn't do much outside of her mind since her roommates never woke up or woke her up but she always felt it in her heart. The bursting and the flow of power was beautiful and filling. It scared her how natural it all was. She loved it. She loved relieving that moment when all her cards were on the table and that scared her to death because she knew, deep in her soul, that it was a family trait to love something like that.

There was a knock on her door. Headmaster Wood came in.

"You left without getting your copy of the status report," he said.

"…I want to see my father," Lola said. She knew if she did not say it now she would never say it.

Headmaster Wood handed her a rolled up parchment and sat on one of her roommate's bed, "…I know I can see it in your eyes."

"Why hasn't he written to me?" Lola heard herself ask. Why was she being so open and honest?

"I figure he is scared, like you, Lola. Except he is scared of all of this. You have to remember he has been running away from magic his entire life. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for those born away from it. But, Lola, if you are really going to do this, I do think you will have to learn to do it alone…for now."

"…I don't understand,"

"It will become clearer. But do know my office is always open."

Lola sighed and fiddled with the papers in her hands.

"There is no shame in conversation, Lola. Whatever you need to say, you should say it. Before it barks its way out of you without control or admission."

"Do you think they will come here for me?"

"…yes, if they are foolish. It will not be anytime soon, though, if that witch was indeed Ocean then they will have some sort of plan first. But this is the safest place you can be, Lola. We both know that."

"What if they come and I'm not ready?"

Headmaster Wood looked deep into Lola's eyes, "they will never get to you. Not with us around. And I will always be around, Lola. So go eat and study hard because in the end only you can protect yourself from whatever comes after you."

"Or out of me," Lola mumbled.

"You are not a horcrux you must stop thinking like that,"

"How do you know? I mean, how are you so certain?"

Headmaster Wood laughed, "We Headmasters just know these things. Now scurry along,"

"My class isn't for another two hours, you know," she said, feeling herself easing down.

"Oh right, well if I had not told them it was in an hour they would have fretted with you longer and you would never have learned a thing at all. Those two are always, always fretting with you but then again it is only natural with people like you, Lola."

"People like me?" Lola asked curiously.

"The unimaginable people. It is a good thing to be one of those. Since no one has any idea what to expect from you they will always wait for a clue from you. With unimaginable people others feel the need to do for them. I guess that is why they fret so much with you. I guess that's why we all do. I'm not much like that. I'm what they call an open book."

"I think you talk in riddles, Headmaster,"

Headmaster Wood smiled, "maybe I do, just for you. There is another side to the unimaginable people, Lola, the side that is affecting you now. That side is the side of people who want to understand you. Others think that if they understand you, well, then they have figured out the universe. I'm sure you feel that way about yourself sometimes,"

Lola nodded as Headmaster wood made his way to the door.

"Relax, Lola, we are given our whole lives to figure ourselves out. Just don't let the others in on your lack of knowing yourself. That's where you will lose your edge and people won't want to fret or take care of you anymore,"

"I don't want to be taken care of,"

"…we all need to be taken care of sometimes, you better head to breakfast before Potter and Malfoy's heads explode looking for you."

Lola watched him leave and sat in her room pondering everything the headmaster had said. She knew he was trying to tell her something but what was it? What was underneath or between all his riddles?

Riddles… she would never understand them.

* * *

Being pregnant was not easy. Being pregnant and working was even harder. Jane Harlow left the hospital early in the morning or late in the night that Sunday/Monday. She had gotten her discharge papers earlier in the week. It had been months since she had last let herself cry. Her services were no longer needed. She figured it was a good thing for her and her baby but it still hurt to be dismissed. Her career had been so short. She figured she had been lucky to have had one in the first place but the pain would not give in to her figuring.

She was working as a nurse now in the local hospital. The bigots wouldn't let her be a doctor. Either way she would not have been paid like the male doctors. It had been a long and hard work shift.

"Then stop thinking about it," a voice behind her said.

Normally she would turn around and sock the bastard sneaking up on her right in the eye but that voice. It was his voice. She had not heard that voice in months…she never expected to hear it again.

"…You know it is very rude to read a woman's thoughts," she found herself saying. She could not find the strength to turn around and face him. She hoped she was hallucinating and that no one would answer her back.

"…you never know what you are going to find in there…"  
She closed her eyes tightly. He was really there. She wondered if this was how Mrs. Darling from her favorite childhood story, Peter Pan, had felt when she heard her children's voices after their trip to never never land. A ghost from the past she'd never thought she would hear again.

"A silly, muggle tale… I always enjoyed hearing it though," he said.

Long ago Jane had come to terms that he could indeed read her mind. She had not been scared then but now…now that she had so much to lose, it was a different story. He always came back in the most frivolous times of her life. Who did he think he was, Peter Pan? Except he grew up ragged and horrid. She turned around to see the shadow of a man she once knew. Grey and porcelain-skinned, she gasped at his appearance.

"Are you sick? Are you dying?" she asked.

He stared at her for a long moment….he stared at her protruding belly and she could tell that he instantly knew that he was staring at the mother of his child.

He shook his head, "…I'm going to live forever," he whispered.

"You look like you are dying," Jane said.

"You are carrying my child…and you were not even going to-"

"Tell you? How? I had no way of reaching you. Besides…I do not need your help."

"…I have to tell you something,"

Jane raised her dark eyebrows his way. What could he have traveled all this way to say? He looked nervous and proud at the same time. His shrinking nose straight in the air and his grey chin sticking out. His eyes revealed all the nervousness though.

"You have to come with me,"

"Where?"

"…to where I rule,"

She giggled, "Where you _rule?_ Where you rule? So you are still insane, I see."

"I will rule it, technically, I'm still taking over."

"Go bother someone else, Tom,"

"That's not my name anymore,"

"…oh? And what should all call you, your highness?"

"…they call me lord Voldemort. Come with me and you will understand."

She cackled, her belly wiggling, "I don't want to understand, Tom. Whatever freaky cult you are in then let it be so but I have a responsibility to my child now. I cannot just be frolicking about the streets with a crazed man."

"Our child,"

"Excuse me?"

"_Our _child, it takes two, you know."

"…no, Tom, this is my child. This you have to understand. He could look just like you but he is mine, alright? Even if you had been here… I would not have let you be part of his life."

"…it is a boy, then?'

"Tom…I don't know, I can just feel it, ok? You know when you just feel things? I feel that this child will be my first born son."

"…come with me, now more than ever I realize why you were in my life."

She sighed, "And why was that, Tom?"

"…because you are the mother of my child. I came here for you. But now…look…you are the mother of my child."

"So, you thought you could just wisp me away into another adventure, hmm? What if I was married, Tom? What then? What if I was at war for goodness sakes? You never think, Tom, about the what ifs. In the real world these things matter."

"None of those things will matter anymore, Jane. If you come with me I could make you queen of the world if you'd like. Just come with me…I could give you the entire world."

"You boys, you all talk the same. You are the worst of all, Tom, promising the world as if it sits in your pocket. You are so deluded that you really believe it. You truly believe in it all. Wake up, Tom, that's not how things work."

He was getting frustrated, "Jane… I'm not what you think I am. You think I'm insane but I'm not. I'm beyond so much of what you hold to be important."

"Of course you are… I have to go, goodbye, Tom." She started to walk away. Her white shoes clicking on the cobblestone.

"If you leave I will never see you again."

She stopped and turned back to him, "is that your big threat?"

"It is not a threat it is the truth. I would never get the chance to come back…not as a man."

"Will you come back as a great big bird then? Or maybe as one of these sky scrapers, that would be something."

He took out his stick and mumbled some words and he was no longer a man but a great, big crow staring up at her with great black eyes. Jane stared quietly and looked about. Another of his cheap magic tricks.

"Very funny, now stop that."

The bird stared at her and then spoke in his voice, "now how do you justify this trick?"

Her blue eyes were wide but she did not give in, "smoke and mirrors, Tom."

"I do not see any smoke," the bird said as it slowly turned back into him, "or mirrors."

"…how did you do that?"

"Magic, I'm a wizard, Jane."

"No you are not,"

"Yes, I am, now give me your hand,"

"No! Just leave me alone, Tom!"

"I cannot,"

"Why not?"

"Because I love you."

"Liar,"

"Why else would I be here?"

"Ugh, you are so uncivilized!"

"And you are the pain of my existence. You never listen and you never follow orders. You are about the worst soldier I have ever encountered."

"You are not an officer I am not ever going to follow your orders."

"But you will be my wife."

Jane faltered, "…are you asking me to marry you? Because if you are that has to be the worst proposal of all time."

Tom looked like a boy suddenly, "you make me feel so confused."

"You talk in riddles, imagine how I feel."

"It is always about how you feel,"

"Tom, do not drag me into another pointless argument. That is enough for tonight." She started to walk away but Tom's arms wrapped around her and they were suddenly thronged into another place. Jane stood still in his arms with her blue eyes wide and her mouth open. What had happened? Where were they? She could not speak.

"How… do you feel?" he asked her; arms still wrapped around her tightly.

A sudden wave of nausea hit her and she fell to the ground trying to stop her vision from curving. She held her stomach. He stood above her, his shadow melting with the setting/rising sun. She looked around when her vision stopped spinning, but could not figure out where she was.

"You are in my world now, Jane. This is where we will bring up our child. And this is what he will inherit."

* * *

Hope i answered some questions for ya. Still a lot left to come.


	14. Chapter 14: Hisses and Sweet Revenge

It has taken me a while to wrap this portion of the story up but here it is.

* * *

Lola wondered if someone or something was sending her these visions. They always answered her questions. Had he loved them, had he wanted them? Of course he had; his son was to be his sole inheritor. To his son Voldemort would have given the world. He would have taught him everything he had learned from the dark arts. He would have been his most trusted advisor and Jane Harlow… she would be his muggle queen. What a true fool he had been, dreaming so big. She would have never allowed it. Lola knew, she knew Jane herself would have joined or aided the order of the phoenix to stop Voldemort. She would have stopped at nothing to save her son from his father. Lola just knew this to be true. But she could not help but feel a sliver of pity for her grandfather. Maybe they could have saved him from his own evil. Instead they had been scarred by it. Jane Harlow was dead and her son, Lola's father, was more afraid of the world than ever before. And then there was Lola herself who had to hide everything she was and felt. Still, the sliver persisted.

Flying lessons were a painfully slow process. Madame Diamondback was a traditionalist, and like most traditionalist, she was achingly by the book. Al was a natural on the broom, of course. He flung around the air trying Madame Diamondback's patience as he attempted to impress and entertain his fellow classmates. Flying lessons were a multi-house class and as much as Lola enjoyed spending time with everyone she found herself most of the time lost in her own thoughts. Of course, it did not help that Lola was the worst in the class.

"Harlow, you are quite a disgrace to witches everywhere," Al teased.

"Why don't you go jump through some hoops or something," Lola spat.

"Ooh, touchy, touchy, today are we not? No need to get all American and rude, darling," Al joked.

"Can't help it, it's my natural defense to British douchebaggery," Lola murmured as she tried to get back on her shifty broom. The thing wiggled away. Lola cursed it.

"Just relax and let it come to you," Al said as he lay on his broom five feet off the ground.

"Here is a better idea, why don't I just grab it and beat you with it?" Lola said sarcastically hopeful and giddy.

"I'm only trying to help you know," Al said giggling.

"Well why don't you lower the attitude tenfold, that would be very helpful, Potter."

Al smiled and reached for her broom to steady it when Lola heard a scream. She gripped Al's hand and signaled him to listen. Someone screamed again.

"What is it?" Al asked.

"Don't you hear that?"

Al took a moment to listen, the screaming worsened, "I do not hear a thing, Lola,"

"Al, come on," Lola began but Madame Diamondback was already ushering them all inside, "you didn't hear that screaming?"

"Screaming?" Madame Diamondback and Al asked in unison. Lola looked them both in the eyes trying to decipher them but they were genuinely concerned and confused. She heard it again; it was so loud and clear to her, why couldn't they hear it? Lola had no time to convince them; she looped her way out of Madame Diamondback's arms and ran toward the horrid sounds.

"Miss Harlow!" she heard the Madame say but Lola was determined to reach the screams, she could hear a pair of feet running behind her. The screams were getting clearer and louder and Lola ran faster towards them. There was something terribly wrong about it all, but Lola's mind had no time to think, her entire being was focused on getting to the scream. Near the Black Lake Lola found her answer. There was a red headed girl on the floor clutching her left hand close to her as her other hand steadily pointed her wand towards a dark, small shape eclipsed by some long grass.

"Molly," Madame Diamondback called the girl as she dragged her away from the unmoving shape, "are you alright?"

"Oh yes I am fine, Madame Diamondback, I just got on the wrong side of the poor beast, is all," said the red headed girl as Madame Diamondback helped her to her feet. Her voice was soft and calm…not at all like the voice Lola had heard screaming.

"What happened, dear girl?" Madame Diamondback asked.

"Well I saw some second years doing who knows what to the beast and I took it upon myself to try to help the poor thing but when I tried to heal it she bit me," Molly said, "I know I should know better than to try to heal with my miniscule training and all but I just felt so bad for the poor thing."

Lola knew it was not Molly she had heard screaming. That could only mean…Lola knelt down beside the still beast. As she cleared the grass she knew instantly who she had heard screaming. Quivering in the grass was a dark brown garden snake. It did not move to attack her. The snakes silver eyes met her own.

"Hey, be careful!" Lola heard Molly say but Lola was too entranced by the creatures stare to heed the warning.

"How could anyone ever hurt you, you beautiful thing," Lola heard herself say, but she had not said that, no, she had said it another way….

The snake watched her tentatively at first but slowly grew more confident, "I have not met many like you," the snake said. The snake was speaking to Lola.

Lola smiled, "they say I'm a rare creature,"

"Goodness me…" Lola heard Madame Diamondback say. She turned around to see the looks of fear, awe and apprehension from both Molly and Madame Diamondback.

"…they do not like it when you speak to us," the snake said to Lola.

Lola healed the creature to its full health, "no, they do not like it at all, run along now."

"You mean slither," the snake said as it slipped away into the wild around them.

Lola faced Madame Diamondback and Molly once again, who had not moved at all, "we should get her to the infirmary," she said.

* * *

She ran from the infirmary. Lola did not know where she was going but she did know that she needed to get away. She needed to run. Before she would just grab her long forgotten surf board and dive into the ocean who always embraced her with clarity but now…now she had nowhere to go. Her father would not talk to her, she could not even say a word to her friends or else they would know what she was.

She found herself in the unlikeliest of places a troubled Slytherin would go, outside the Gryffindor common room. She hesitated there out of breath. She knew why she was there but could not find the courage to reach up and address the fat lady of the portrait. Suddenly, the door lunged open and Lola jumped out of its way.

Nicolas Longbottom Abbott looked down at her with surprised and confused dark eyes. They stared at each other a long while.

"What are you doing standing there?" he asked her as he shifted the group of books he was most likely returning to the library.

Lola struggled but finally spoke, "Can you get James Potter for me?"

Nicolas raised a long dark eyebrow and Lola fought the urge to lose control of her spiraling emotions.

"James," Nicolas called after a moment of trying to figure Lola out, "Lola Harlow is here to see you!"

Many Gryffindor students appeared out of the corners of the opening whispering and watching her curiously. The whole house must have heard him hollering, Lola figured, trying to avoid the stares.

"Sod off, vultures," Lola heard James say before his red head appeared in the doorway. He walked past Nicolas and guided down the stairs into a solitary corridor without giving his housemates a glance. They stood in the dim light silently as Lola fretted with a loose piece of string from her robes. What was she doing? James was patient. He waited, watching her with those inquiring brown eyes and a sliver of a smile on his pink lips.

"And I thought Slytherins were bad company," Lola heard herself say. She was stalling. She could feel the emotions swelling up inside her ready to explode.

"What happened?" James asked. He wasted no time.

"I should have known," Lola began pacing, "I should have realized it. I don't understand how I could be so damn stupid!"

"Lola," James interrupted, grabbing her by the wrists and stopping her in her tracks, "what happened?"

"I am a parselmouth," she heard herself whisper and the words singed her tongue to speak them. There was no way she was going to live in the magical world without her lineage being revealed. There was no way back. James stared at her a long moment without speaking. His face was inscrutable.

"…how did you find this out?" he asked.

She told him everything. She told him of the scream and of Molly and Madame Diamondback's part in the ordeal, she even told him of the small conversation she had with the snake. He listened well and this time his eyes grew with concern and awe.

"James if word gets out that I am a parselmouth people will know that I am descended from Salazar Slytherin and they will try to find out my heritage!" Lola was breathing hard. She felt like crying but wanted to destroy something instead.

"What was it like?" she heard James ask.

"What?"

"What was talking to a snake, talking in parseltongue like?" he asked again.

Lola faltered, "I…I don't know like… like a regular conversation but it was…it felt like we were alone in the world. It was like… like nothing else."

Thinking back now Lola knew she would not have had the strength to turn away from the creature. Staring into its eyes had been like… like looking into her father's. Lola had always known she had inherited this ability. That and much more. She had communicated with other animals but with snakes it had always been a little more than a mental conversation or awareness of each other's presence. With snakes it had been like the world shut off around her and there was only them and she. She could feel there essence, the way the ground felt against their scales, the way the sun energized them. And in return, she knew they felt her humanity. Lola had never spoken to one out loud before today but…she had always understood that connection and what it meant. Only now did she realize how others could implicate her with it.

"Lola…what an incredible gift," James said.

"James," Lola began pacing again, "don't you get it? I cannot go to this school if they know who I am. I cannot even enter this world! I will have to go back to taking those god awful pills and feeling terrible all the time and never understanding and never feeling the free flow of magic. I don't want that!"

"Lola, calm down," James stopped her by her shoulders, "you are getting ahead of yourself. Just because you are a parselmouth does not mean you are going to be burned at the stake. Besides, your lineage is not who you are, it is just part of you. As far as I can tell you weren't raised to take over the world so try to relax. No one is taking you from here."

Lola closed her eyes but she could feel the emotions knotting inside her, ever closer to releasing, "what if you are wrong. What if that is the only reason I am here."

"Lola what does that even mean?"

"James I have visions of him, I have visions of my grandfather and he is calling to me, I swear, he is inside my head and my heart. What if they can get him out of me? What if they can bring him back….through me?" Lola could not stop herself, her deepest fears were escaping.

James did not falter, "No, I won't allow it. You are here to learn to protect yourself just like the rest of us, Lola. You are not some horcrux, all right? No one can take you from here, ok? This is the safest place in the entire world. And even if they do try they won't succeed. It is madness to think that they can use magic to bring someone back from death and a most permanent death thanks to my father. You know this, Lola, and you know it well."

"Allow it? Allow it! James you cannot stop them from trying to get me, no one can! And even if they are wrong and he is not inside me they will stop at nothing to get him or some form of him. They will kill me, James, they will do anything." Lola could not take any more of this. Her head was throbbing with the need to vent out all the pain and frustration she was feeling. She tried to turn away from him but James grip was strong on her lithe shoulders.

"Lola, look at me," he said, forcing her head up to meet him, "you have to believe. If you do not believe that you are your own person and not a means of bringing the dark lord back you will never be able to live a free life. Look at me! "

"James…the things I see… the things I know," as Lola spoke she remembered all her memories as Tom Riddle or Jane Harlow. Even her dreams of Harry Potter's life came to mind. All these other people's lives were taking over her own. Would there ever be enough room for her own memories?

"Are probably very strange," he interrupted, "but his life is not yours, Lola. He had his chance; he actually had a really long one. Now you have to make your choice…you can live in fear of his shadow or step out of it and leave it behind."

Lola felt the hot tears before they blurred her vision of James' strong face. She reached up to wipe them away but James pulled her hands away and took her into a deep embrace. For the first time in a long time, Lola let a stranger hold her.

"You are one freaky chick," she heard James whisper in her ear. Lola could not respond. Finally her emotions had broken through and all she could do was sink into his shoulder and cry. James chuckled, "I suppose my dear cousin looked mortified."

"Cousin?"

"Yeah, Molly Weasley, you can't run into anyone red headed around here without them being related to me."

* * *

Dear Lola,

I suppose this letter is long overdue but I have had to rewrite it many times for, you see, I am very nervous to answer your questions. This is an improper topic, Lola, but you are right, I have no one else to confide to. My sister is a baby and with my family it has always been a do not ask and do not mention sort of truce. They still have hope that I will grow out of this and marry a proper witch. But, if it will make you happy, and since your well being is my concern as well as my profession at the moment, I will entertain you.

It started out very proper between Sir Hotspur and I. He was my teacher and I was to be his star student. I never imagined…you see sir Hotspur is a legend for my generation. He has arrested and destroyed so many dark forces and to be his apprentice and only that would have been the greatest honor of my life. It would have been enough for me. I am not what you Americans call a 'home wrecker' or whatever. I had no intentions for any of this to happen and I want that to be clear to you. Anyway, it started slow. He would compliment me or when a handed him some file his hand would linger on mine a moment too long. Then his eyes would catch me staring at him and he would actually smile my way.

Then, a few weeks before you came into our lives, we kissed. Well, it was more like I could not take the tension anymore and I threw myself upon him but… he did kiss me back. He does not speak much of his life to me…or to anyone. All I know is that he was once married but… she died and he did not spend much time with her for obvious reasons. His life has been his work. His life is still his work and he does not seem to regret anything. He is very sweet to me and he never treats me like I am below him. He has taught me so much.

Lola, no one can know about us. It is terribly improper and it could cost us our jobs. It could literally cost me my future as an auror. I trust you but I do ask you burn this letter after you read it. Also, the files should be coming in with this letter so read up and put those in a safe place. I hope your time in Hogwarts is pleasing you. And I hope you are making plenty of good and honest friends. Be careful, but not too careful, or else life will pass you by.

Now I am not going to out all of Hogwarts for your elusive pursuit but I will warm you: sexuality is a subject best left unspoken of in those halls. It is not an issue you want to get involved with, understood? I am supposed to be protecting you, remember? I will not knowingly lead you down a dangerous path.

Take care, darling,

Alexander Sweyn

Lola read the letter over and over before she watched it burn to a grey piles of ashes by her bedside. What a breathtaking love story, she thought, between her protectors. Lately she had been…engulfed in other people's tales of love that the ever pressing female urge to fall in it herself was beginning to show itself in her mind again. Being a girl was hard, Lola wondered if she would ever get her emotions under control again. Before it had been easy being a girl. It was not much different than being a boy. But now that this whole terrible puberty thing was starting, Lola knew she would never be the same. It was strange feeling.

As the twilight began to fade outside and the sun began peaking around the horizon, Lola hopped out of bed and made herself ready for school. Today was a very important day. Today was when operation payback would commence. She and the girls had planned long and hard and she was well rested and quite ready for the encounter. Lola was always ready and willing for a fight, she figured it was all part of her Slytherin ambition and cunning. She had been a good leader being resourceful and bringing out a concrete plan from the girls' wild ideas. Lola was quite proud of herself. They had a couple main targets but the whole second year class was in for one hell of a shock.

She ate her breakfast with her two best mates as plain and innocently as she could. Although she knew Al would approve of their plan she did not want to risk Scorpius feeling extra righteous this morning. And Al lately was being so excruciatingly understanding of Scorpius' feelings that if he did find out he would try to stop them to please him. Boys, Lola thought as she watched them, so strange. She would have to skip her morning charms class but she and the girls had already prepared for that.

"Oh, blast," Lola began, she was surprised by the ease the acting fell upon her structure, "I left my wand back in my room,"

"You don't need a wand for charms today, I think, we have that in-class paper to write," Scorpius mumbled through a full-of-crumpets little mouth.

She froze for only a moment, "yeah but I do for my next classes and I will have no time to eat lunch and get my wand. And I rather be late for charms than for potions with Professor Banks."

"Ah, I see, well you should go now before the crowd in here disperses for class," Scorpius said as he wiped down his chin. He looked oh like his father for a moment there, it made Lola giggle. Although, physically Scorpius was more his father's son than his mother's, the kindness and innocence in his eyes made him and his father look like they were from different worlds.

"Right," she said with a smile and scurried off. Phase one, complete, she thought to herself as she snaked down the halls towards the abandoned tower where her girls were probably already waiting for her. She kept herself from giggling out loud as the mission impossible theme stuck to her mind. If there was one thing she missed more than her father from the non-wizarding world, it would be strange little jokes like that. What wizard would ever understand it? She pushed the growing concerns for her father away and made it up the tower without being questioned by anyone. She knocked on the door five times. May opened it.

With a wry and sleepy smile she said, "Well about time, ring leader, we have all been waiting for you. Anji was convinced you chickened out."

Lola grinned, "Ha isn't se supposed to be in position already?"

"She is," said Jasminder from the chair she was snuggling in, "She just thought she would share her thoughts through a wizard's text."

Lola's eyes grew wide, "a what?"

May and Jasminder looked confused, "you know, a wizard's text message."

"Uh, hello, muggle-born," Lola commented.

"Oh, right, well, it is like the muggle text message except it is expressed through your wand, see?" May said as she showed Lola her wand which glowed with a golden script similar to Anjali's handwriting.

"And you do not, what's that muggle term? Oh yes, you do not type it, you just think it and then think of who you want to receive it," Jasminder finished.

"That's nifty and all but what if you are like sharing a joke about someone and you accidentally send it to the wrong person? Like, I don't know the person you were making fun of?" Lola asked.

"Well it is a little more complicated than that but it has happened, that is why not many wizards have become enamored with it for day-to-day conversations but it makes for a great way to share secrets and keep in touch during missions," Jasminder said as she winked. She looked so like her mother when she did that.

"Anyway, are you ready to begin? We have one minute till our mission is suppose to start," May commented impatiently.

"Wow you girls timed it and everything?" Lola asked, impressed.

Jasminder and May widely grinned, "What kind of meddling witches would we be if we did not put flair of auror into it?"

Lola laughed, although she missed her old world, this one was full of similar adventures. One of which, she thought, was about to begin. They made their way to their assigned posts around the great hall. The magic within her bones stirred her and she could not tell if it was magic or adrenaline causing her to feel so extraordinary. Sweet, sweet, revenge, she thought as she focused all her energy on a glass of orange juice.

Lysander and Lorcan Scamander Lovegood were sitting eating calmly when their good friend James Potter came in. He sat down to eat across from them, as most second years come to eat at this time after the first years had gone to their morning classes, and offered but a silly grin as to ease their worry. Although James had been acting strange the last few days, not having them pound on the first years or practice their magic on garden snakes anymore, he was sitting with them at their table. And who could resist a James Potter grin? They ate happily together until a shadow came over their food behind James.

"So you are back?" Fred Weasley Johnson's voice boomed from behind.

James turned to see his dear cousin; one of the only Weasleys to not have flaming red hair. He was tall and lanky like his father at this age but his skin was dark and his head was shaved down to a crew cut. He did not like his brown thick curls growing long. Although he was orderly like his mother, his physical features were boyish and charming like his father and late uncle had been.

"Back?" James asked coolly.

Fred sighed, "You know what I mean, James. Back to sitting with us, eating with us, all that good stuff. Because if you are not and you rather go spend your time who knows where and with whoever it is you fancy so much you can just sod off, then."

James considered his cousin's words for a moment before speaking, "I am sitting and eating here, aren't I? You all are a bunch of jealous blokes lost without me, aren't you? It is actually rather sad."

James saw a smile creep into his cousin's lips before Fred gave in and sat down with them laughing and pushing James around with Lorcan and Lysander. All was well.

Meanwhile Lucy Weasley rolled her eyes at her cousin's strange and barbaric man rituals and turned back to her friends in the Ravenclaw table. She was just about to tell them her sister's encounter with a parselmouth when her orange juice threw itself at her face! After shock wore off came her logical reasoning, juice did not throw itself, someone was using magic to embarrass her. Before she could look around to see who dared to do such a thing, her biscuit had launched itself toward her head.

James was sure he was still dreaming. There was no way bacon could come off a plate by itself, and like a little four piece army, start launching his eggs at his face, using his toast as shields. But as he tried to make sense of it all, there was his bacon, attacking him. His first reaction was to get the bloody hell out of there but there was no escape, his bacon had him cornered.

The great hall exploded with screams and the sound of utensils and food flying about. It had been a simple spell, really. Like the charms used on wizard's chest, Lola, May, Jasminder and Anjali had come up with a way to charm food into attacking its consumer. All they needed was complete concentration. They each picked a table and focused on the food contents. It was so easy and so satisfying to watch the second years freak out at their own meals. Some were even attacking their food instead of trying a simple counter attack. Lola wondered how they even got to their second year when May gave the signal to disperse with the scared and exiting crowd. They had done it! And, Lola mused as she slipped into the crowd; they had gotten away with it.

* * *

Haha Wizard's Food Fight, pretty nifty, huh? :D Review if you please.


	15. Chapter 15: Rough Reality

So i wrote this chapter at the speed of light because i wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing reviews! Keep them coming!

* * *

The entire school was wired and garrulously blabbing about the morning prank played on the second years. Even most of the second years were impressed and good hearted about it; some had even found it hilarious. Fred Weasley Johnson was one of the ones who thought it an amazing prank. I mean, come on, what kind of Weasley would he be if he did not see the humor and genius of it all? Most second years, however, were livid.

Lola, May, Jasminder, and Anjali enjoyed their moment. They walked past the older students with their backs straight and slivers of knowing smiles on their lips, they even dared to laugh at those with confused and shocked faces those first couple of days. But, alas, it was time for the next phase albeit the most difficult. Lola took a deep breath before entering the familiar chamber.

"You wanted to see me, headmaster?"

Lola almost cringed when his inscrutable stare fell hard on her. He did not look angry or even disappointed as she had expected…he just looked intense.

"Yes, sit down," Headmaster Wood said calmly. Lola had not been nervous for this moment until now. She swallowed hard and did as was asked, "Well I will just get straight down to the point, Lola. I got an anonymous note today claiming you were responsible for the food fight fiasco…is that true?"

Lola had rehearsed this part. She was suppose to make a scene of first desperately denying it then savagely taking the credit for the deed ravenously and, in the spirit of Slytherin, with a very cunning and unapologetic grin. However, she was suddenly guilty. Not for the act itself, but for thinking she could lie or put on an act to Headmaster Wood… not after all he was doing for her. She mentally moped, she really should have been anything but a Slytherin with how not very cunning, clever or blinded by ambition she was at the moment.

"Well, yes, it was," Lola began but Headmaster Wood held up his hand to silence her. He looked down at some paperwork he had on his mahogany desk and Lola held her breath nervously.

He finally spoke, "what spell did you use?"

"It was a mix of charms lessons and the oppugno spell… which works terrifically well," Lola blurted out. His intense stare was back on her, "um, I mean, terribly well, terrible…"

"Lola," he began, no trace of anger in his voice…but she did hear impatience, "you expect me to believe that with a few months of studying you were able to pull together such a high level spell and perform it to this degree by yourself?"

"…I did not realize it was such high level,"

"Lola, stop wasting my time, who was it?"

"Who was what?" Lola was trying to think fast but all she could come up with was to answer his questions with her own.

"Who helped you?"

Lola had not rehearsed for any of this. She sighed and sank back in to her chair, "even if I did have help why would I tell you?"

"Because you are facing all the consequences of your ludicrous actions yourself,"

"Ludicrous? Please, headmaster, no need to be so dramatic,"

Headmaster Wood's dark eyebrows raised and mouth opened and closed before he stopped. Slowly he opened his mouth to speak again, "Maybe I have given you the wrong impression of what kind of a leader I am or how I take care and keep order of this school. Maybe I smile too much, maybe I wear too many light and fancy colors on my robes but I do not tolerate foulness or ill-mannered childishness in my office, Lola. You will respect me, this school and this office, do you understand?"

Lola gulped, "…yes, sir,"

"Now," he was as calm as ever as he spoke, "who helped you?"

"…I know what you are thinking,"

"Really?"

"I know that you think I am not telling you because I want all the glory and credit for myself," Lola began, Headmaster Wood watched her carefully and silently, "but, ok that is part of it, but what I am trying to say is… I am willing to take all the blame because these other people can't afford to be targets to future vengeance tricks pulled by those insensitive, foul, loathsome, little-"

"Lola, I am going to need you to calm down," Headmaster Wood said as he ran a rough hand through his short hair, "I do not understand what you are trying to say."

"Well, that I can handle it…they can't, sir. If the second years come after them I do not think they will be able to defend themselves from them. I can and I am willing to. Besides it was all my idea so I take the blame for it. That was my plan all along and no matter what I am not going to let them get in trouble for something I planned."

Headmaster Wood was silent again and Lola was sure she was going to implode from anxiety. He fixed an 'oh, really?' stare on her that almost made her want to keep rambling…almost.

He folded his hands on his desk before speaking, "I will be the judge of that."

"Headmaster, please, I know you think this is some sort of bizarre Slytherin version of a guilt trip confession,"

"Actually I think it is more like the very usual Slytherin nonchalant victory confession,"

"Headmaster… ok. I admit that I had a whole skit ready in my head to claim all the glory for myself and although most was so, you know, I could have the glory, I also just think,"

"You should have done some more thinking before you sent me that note, Lola, or better yet, before you pulled the prank, you have four weeks of detention."

Lola was surprised that it was only four weeks but tried to look like she thought he was being unreasonable.

"Miss Scamander, Miss Nova and Miss Aabha will be joining you there shortly,"

"What!" Lola could not believe it!

"Lola, I am a wizard, even still it is not that hard to figure out that the only first years to skip that day were you four and you all happened to be in the great hall at the time the prank was played off,"

Her class sure picked a great day to be prompt, she thought before giving in. Lola lowered her head, "I still wish that you keep their names out of it, sir. Let them serve detention with me but discreetly."

"Leave you with all the glory?"

"No, I was bound to get all of that anyway for being the Slytherin in the crew, but I am the one who isn't afraid of what the second years will try to get us back with. I might be ruthless and insufferably sly but I do lack one foolish trait, I am terribly brave and almost insanely willing to be the only one they come after. I can't let them think they can just walk all over us, Headmaster. I have the nerve to take anything they throw at me." Lola could almost feel the adrenaline release in her system to the thought of how cunning and brave the first years will seem with her as the face of their ambitions.

"Well, you aren't getting credit or recognition, Lola, none of you are, only detention. Do you really believe I would be foolish enough o reveal to your vengeful victims who their prankers were? That is like asking for a feud to begin."

"But what will you tell them? They will want answers or they will think nothing was done."

"It is simple really, once they see the 100 house points taken from each of your respective houses, they will understand that two Ravenclaws, a Hufflepuff and a sly and ruthless Slytherin were to blame and punished,"

Lola's jaw fell open but her eyes remained confused more than shocked.

She moved to speak but Headmaster Wood spoke first, "you can go now, Lola."

In the end all Lola could do was sigh and walk away.

* * *

"It is not fair you know, since we are in the same house we lost more points," Jasminder complained as they polished all the trophies in the obscure trophy room, which was terribly humid that evening they were doing their detention time.

"You know for Ravenclaws you two aren't very smart," Lola teased as she languidly handles her share of dusty trophies.

Jasminder and Anjali stuck their tongues out at her.

"That may be true, the points bit, but Lola and I got four weeks of detention while you guys only got two," May explained as she put the clean trophies back in their cases.

"I rather have detention then lose all those points," Jasminder mumbled.

"Not me, look at my nails!" Anjali pouted as she studied her worn down cuticles.

"Well I still can't believe we don't even get the credit," Lola said, "I mean, after all that work."

"I can't believe it either," May smiled, "but I am glad and appreciate it."

Lola rolled her eyes and turned her attention back on the trophy she was polishing. It was an award trophy for services to the school and it seemed older and dustier than many of the other trophies. What a vague award, she thought as she cleaned over the poor nerd's name who probably amounted to nothing particularly interesting in their life. When she read the name Lola gasped hard and dropped the trophy from her trembling fingers.

"Lola? What is it?" May asked, but Lola was frozen in a mix of embarrassment, speechlessness, shock and discomfort. Anjali picked up the trophy and read it.

Her face went from concern to grim in a second, "guess you aren't muggle enough to know who that is by now."

Lola did not know how to respond.

Luckily Jasminder had gone to her cousin's side and read the trophy's inscription, "You must have read or heard some horror stories to react like that."

"I…" Lola was so angry with herself, "I am sorry, I did not mean to be such a baby about it,"

"Lola, do not apologize, it is perfectly normal," May began as she confirmed her suspicions with the trophy, "…it was a dark time not long enough ago."

Lola wanted to strangle herself, "It's just… I never thought I would see that name here."

"Surprising, isn't it," May spoke, "to know someone so seemingly normal and talented could be capable of such evil? My mum only talked about that final battle only once…but it was enough."

It was a long silence before Anjali spoke, "my mum can't even speak about it. My father told me once that she never even spoke to him about it."

"What did she say," Lola heard herself ask, "about him?"

May's face was contemplating, "she said she had never been so roughly brought into reality like the night she looked upon and heard the voice of…Voldemort telling her to give up or die."

Lola felt an uncomfortable irritation growing within her and she knew she had to get out of that room as fast as possible, "we better finish."

* * *

Lola resisted the urge to go tell James all that had happened. She had cried in front of him way too many times and that bothered her pride. Besides, not even he could understand why she was so angry mostly because she herself could not understand it. He had been an evil, heartless man who murdered and destroyed countless of innocent lives. He had brought both wizarding and muggle worlds to the brink of despair and he had done it gleefully and with malice in what was left in his soul.

But her anger persisted. She reasoned with herself. He had been her grandfather and for a child growing up with not only one parent but no set of grandparents it was a hard pill to swallow. It was not easy to accept that one of the most evil wizards to ever walk the earth had been her grandfather. There, she admitted it; she forgave herself for feeling this intolerable pity. But she could not shake the anger. She sat in her bed, alone in her room and wanted to crawl into a very deep and very dark hole and never think about it again.

Not an option, she mentally told herself as she read through the file of suspects Sir Hotspur and Alexander had sent her. It always helped her keep focus on the actual problems at hand. She was still being persisted because of this grandfather she felt such unfathomable feelings for. Really, she should hate him with all her might. Lola closed her eyes and thought of her father before the growing hate in her grew uncontrollable. It was not right. She was not going to go down a path of hate and self-pity. Her father had not brought her up that way.

She smiled slightly at the fond memories her thoughts and her seashell bracelet brought to her restless mind. He had done a good job with her with all things considered. He had brought her up to be a responsible, silly and only slightly cunning young lady. She had been happy with her father. But she knew that her father was right. This was the world she had always belonged in. She just had to learn to control her emotions again. Her medicine had always done that for her and now she was going to have to do it herself. There was a loud knock on her door.

"What?" Lola asked, angry for the disturbance.

"Lola, get out here now," Al called.

Great, she thought, he had seen the points taken off from Slytherin, time to be super charming and irresistible, "what is it, Al?"

But Al did not look angry. All the color from his face had been drained, "the Ministry of Magic was attacked an hour ago…"

"By who?" Lola asked as she grabbed him by the shoulders to force him to look her in the eyes.

"I don't know but they hit where your dad works,"

Lola felt her body freeze as her throat clamp shut. Her face revealed all her terror and agony.

"No, Lola, no! He is ok, I think. But he is in the Headmaster's office and so is my dad. I was walking by when I saw him yelling at the Headmaster to bring you there. You guys have the same eyes… I came here as fast as I can."

Lola never even realized she had let go of Al and was running. All she felt or thought was absolute fear. This was what it must have felt like to be Luna Lovegood in the final battle, a part of her brain considered. Moments later she was at the Headmaster's office.

"Puddlemere united," she managed to breathe out to the gargoyle eyeing her.

"Wrong password," it sneered.

"Just open the goddamn door!" she snapped and started rapping madly on the stone, "dad, Dad!" she screamed madly, fists were scraping against the door.

The door suddenly swung open revealing her father, just as she had left him. She jumped into his arms and they wrapped their arms around each other so tight. Both could not hold back the tears.

"Lolita," Sebastian Harlow whispered as he held his daughter tight and kissed her head.

"Daddy," Lola wiped away at her uncontrollable tears and pulled away to look at her father. He was different. His clothes were torn and his eyes looked like he hadn't slept since she left, "what happened?"

"That is what I was trying to understand myself," she heard Harry Potter's voice come from behind her father. She looked and there he was, accompanied by Sir Hotspur, Headmaster Wood and Alexander. Lola looked back at her father and he sighed, took her hand and led them both to some seats.

"Well now that you have calmed down and your daughter is here, can you kindly recall what the bloody hell happened? Who did you tell about your whereabouts?" Harry Potter questioned.

"Uh, excuse me," Lola began, "my father was just attacked? Aren't you aurors supposed to have some sort of tact and reserve in situations like this?"

"Lola," was all her father had to say to shut her up. He never called her by her given name. Sebastian Harlow gathered his thoughts, "I did not tell anyone. I have not spoken to anyone out of that building ever since I started working there, Mr. Potter. And no, as far as I know, no one there suspects me to be who I am. They all pretty much buy the story you told me to tell."

Harry Potter paced, "I believe you,"

"Then how did this happen?" Sebastian Harlow asked as he felt his fear and anger growing. They were supposed to be safe.

"With all due respect, Mr. Harlow, I am still not entirely sure what, in fact, happened," Harry Potter spoke as he paced.

"…there was some sort of explosion. After that I woke up with this god forsaken thing on my arm."

"So you don't remember anything or anyone?"

Lola did not bother to ask and lifted her father's bloody sleeve. She screamed. Her father's arm was bleeding still; the inner forearm was carved with the image that had haunted her dreams at night. Staring back at her was a ghostly carved version of the dark mark. The skull seemed to be smiling as its snake protruded violently from it.

* * *

ooooh, intense! i know that 100 points is not that much to lose but it was also a silly prank that no noe got seriously injured or complained too much about so i let them off easy. Besides, detention is much worse if you ask me. i have been waiting a long time to bring Sebastian harlow back into our dear little lola's life and there is lots more intense, unbeleivable stuff on its way. as well as some sappy moments. btw, do you buy Al's story of just happening to be walking by? i don't :)


	16. Chapter 16: Obsessed

ok, i am so happy with the reviews i am getting. :) keep them coming! now i know this is a short one but i don't like to keep you guys waiting so enjoy!

* * *

Her father was sent to the infirmary while Lola was forced to stay behind with Alexander and Headmaster Wood while Sir Hotspur and Harry Potter questioned had ordered her to stay himself and in her horror and panic she had silently agreed. Now she was left alone with her mind, and it was racing with questions. Who had done this? Who had the audacity, the nerve and even more frightening, the ability to break into the Ministry of Magic _twice? _Why had they done this? Was her father the target or she? Were they both targets now? How could they? How could anyone justify such cruelty? What kind of people were they messing with?

"Lola," Alexander began, "try to calm down. We will get to the bottom of this." He could tell she was moments from losing her reserve and it was always dangerous when Lola Harlow loses her reserve.

"How could this happen?" Lola snapped, "How could you let this happen?"

Alexander's dark brown eyes lightened as they widened with surprise at the accusation in her tone, "no one let this happen, Lola, it is our job to protect you,"

Lola interrupted him, "is that why my father was… carved," there was a venom as she said the word, "because of your grand protection efforts?"

Alexander forced himself to be patient, "We were assigned to protect you, Lola. Our Intel told us that you were the main target. Your father is a grown man very capable of protecting himself. Even still he was working in the most secure area of the ministry. This is a blatant effort to force you out of hiding."

Lola was confused, "Harry Potter only assigned you to protect me?"

"Yes, Lola,"

"But…why?"

"Because," Headmaster Wood interrupted calmly, "you are the greatest risk."

"Headmaster," Alexander warned, "no offense but stay out of this."

"With all due respect, young auror, I am as part of this investigation as you," Headmaster Wood explained coolly, "Lola, your abilities are beyond anything we imagined. Worst of all you cannot control them, your emotions or your temper. Harry might be a young director but he is the department head and knows what he is doing. We all admit that no one could have briefed us on such a case as yours but the best of the best are on this case, Lola, and you are going to have to trust them."

Lola was not ready to give up, "…you should have protected him. How could you expect my father to protect himself from crazed wizards, Alexander?"

Alexander sighed, "Lola,"

"No!" Lola interrupted again, "no you cannot possibly have an excuse for that! My father was attacked and carved up, like a goddamn turkey! There are no excuses for that!"

Without letting him speak she stormed off towards the infirmary. Alexander watched her go while his heart fought him to go after her.

* * *

The infirmary was calm and silent as usual. Lola walked in to see Harry Potter wrapping her father's hurt arm in a thick, white substance coming from his wand. Madame Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. Sir Hotspur was talking in a hush tone so unlike him that Lola had to blink twice at the entire scene to see if she was dreaming it. But it was real.

"Lolita," her father said in the middle of sir Hotspur's hushed question, "when will you learn to listen to me?"

Harry Potter and Sir Hotspur both looked up to find her standing just a few feet away from her father's bed.

"…what is that?" she asked no one in particular as she stared at the white substance covering her father's new scar.

"It is but a simple bandage to cover the scar," Harry Potter began, his tone was so soft and kind she almost did not realize it was him talking, "since he works between muggles and wizarding folk he has to appear to be healing regularly. Also, we do not want anyone getting ideas from the scar itself."

"…isn't there some sort of wizard's potion that gets rid of scars or something?" Lola asked, the image of her father's torn skin prevalent in her mind.

"I do not want to get rid of it, Lolita," her father chimed in.

Lola scoffed, meeting his tired eyes with her widened ones for the first time, "why not?"

"It is evidence," he said simply as he tried not to wince in front of her.

"We have already given him something for the pain," Sir Hotspur spoke, "but if you do not mind we have not finished the interview yet and it is best you are not here when he recalls things."

Harry Potter looked up at Sir Hotspur with an incredulous look in his green eyes before he calmed himself, "what he means is your father does not want you to know the details."

Lola scanned Sir Hotspur, then Harry Potter, then her father. They all tried not to meet her eyes for too long. They were hiding something.

"At this point, Father, we are intertwined in this," Lola simply said and settled herself to a chair. She was not going to leave.

Sebastian Harlow sighed, rolled his grey eyes and laughed for the first time in months, "you remind me so much of your mother,"

"Don't insult me," Lola instinctively said as a sliver of a smile escaped from her mouth.

"She can stay," Sebastian Harlow said as he turned his attention back to Sir Hotspur, "you were asking, sir?"

Strange family, Sir Hotspur noted, "was there anything odd or out of place about the people who attacked you?"

"I told you already," Sebastian explained, "I cannot quite remember any of them."

"So there was more than one?" Lola intervened. The look Sir Hotspur and harry Potter gave her would have made anyone cringe and this included Lola, "…sorry."

"…there was more than one attacker, Mr. Harlow?" Sir Hotspur asked slowly. The girl would have grown up to be an excellent auror, he thought.

"There was more than one figure around me, yes, but only one… attacked me,"

"Was there anything about the attacker, anything at all you can recall? Male or female, hair color, anything would be useful t this point,"

"It was a woman," he said simply, his eyes lost in the frightening memory, "and she had dark hair and a scar on her throat."

"…sudden recall, I see…" Sir Hotspur more mumbled than said, "Did anything strike you about the others?"

"She was relatively young, she could not have been more than thirty years old," Sebastian recalled faster and faster, "about 5'5 with eyes so black you start to wonder if she is even human at all. She was so frail looking, too, but she was terrifying…no, I did not see her this time, but I recognized her voice from before. I met her fifteen years ago when she tried to sacrifice me as an offering to her 'dark lord'…my father. The explosion or whatever they set off this time had my vision blurring, I did not see any of the others but they were there… because I heard them chanting."

"Do you mean there from fifteen years ago?"

"I mean both. Yes, they were there fifteen years ago but they were also there while that woman scarred me up. And they were chanting both times."

"Hmm, interesting," sir Hotspur began, "…did she say anything to you this time that you can recall?"

Sebastian Harlow's grey eyes rose slowly to meet Sir Hotspur's eyes, "yes, she said…I was my father's spitting image…and so was my daughter."

* * *

Lola did not know what to think. While Harry Potter and Sir Hotspur seemed satisfied if not slightly giddy with the information her father had given them, going on about finally having a lead and trying to connect Ocean with Voldemort, Lola could not have been more hopeless.

They were on to them. All her life she knew there had been something missing. It had not been a mother and it had not been anything tangible in her other world… it had been magic. But now that magic was causing her and her father's safety, sanity and survival. She knew she only had one choice but she did not want to accept it.

Even if she stopped going to Hogwarts and tried to go back to her life in California she would be hunted down if not faster. But being separated from her father was causing her such great anguish and now, panic, that she could not function.

Her father's unhurt hand wrapped around her shoulder and gave her a slight squeeze, "what are you worrying about so desperately in that head of yours?"

"If we leave, we are as good as dead, if we stay we are going to be found out and then as good as dead, I can't just wait for something worse than this to happen next." Lola said.

"We do not have much of a choice, do we," Sebastian Harlow began, "you know, Lolita, I do not see it like you do."

"How do you see it?"

"Well, I do agree that if we go back to our life in California we are as good as dead, but, staying here is not as bad as you make it seem. You get to learn to protect yourself and me. You get to live a regular life for the most part for once. I could have never given you that back at home."

"You forget the getting found out about part,"

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that never happens,"

Lola scoffed, "hard to do when you have crazy people trying to kill you,"

"Hmm," Sebastian Harlow said, "I do not remember you being so pessimistic."

"I was never in a life or death situation, daddy,"

"I guess not," Sebastian said as he turned, painfully, to get some water.

"….daddy, how come you never wrote to me?"

"…honestly?"

"Yes, honestly,"

"Well, I did not want you to worry about me. It sounds stupid, I know, but you had a new life that was good for you. You were happy and I did not want to bring you down with my unhappiness. This is not a world I can get used to, Lolita, because I have avoiding it for…all of my life. I do not belong here… but you do."

"…that is so selfish…" was all Lola could say. How could he?

"Yes, it is. I have a lot of my parents in me. I have lied to you…for a long time. The pills Dr. Stanford gave to me had the same side effects as yours. I had dreams of my parents and of this world through Harry Potter's eyes. Do you know why? Well, of course you should have figured it out by now. Because Harry Potter was the last Horcrux, and therefore, connected directly to my father. Until he defeated him I had dreams of Harry Potter's life. As soon as their connection ended so did mine's with Harry. And when you were born…my connection with my father's memories or whatever they are ended too. I only have my mother's dreams, memories, whatever they are now. But you are different than me. You have all three. And you have always had them and the connection has never stopped."

"…what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well," Sebastian bit his lip, "because you are different than me I cannot predict the outcome of what will happen if they get to you."

"So you think they can bring him back with me?"

"No, Lola, no, you mustn't believe in such things. Nothing can bring the dead back. Not even in this world."

"Then what are you saying?"

"That the magic that runs in our blood is stronger in you and therefore, you will not be able to function without it. This is your world, not mine."

"So you figured it would be a good idea to just leave me here by myself?"

"Lolita, I do not know what I figured. But I know…our fates were not meant to be so intertwined. I never told you how it ended with your mother."

"I was there," Lola seethed, "I remember," what was his problem, she thought, what was wrong with him?

"She wanted to take you from me because she was convinced that you were being possessed by some demon…the same one I was being possessed with. I convinced her that demon had already claimed you as it had claimed me so she would not take you from me. Your mother never wanted to leave you."

Lola found herself laughing," wow…well she has a funny way of showing it. Is that supposed to make me mad? Make me hate you forever? She would have killed me if she had taken me with her because, demon or not, I was still going to freak her out. What kind of mother abandons her child? She left us because she is insane and cannot handle it. So now it is my turn to talk. I need you. And I need you to be strong and not do stupid things like not talk to me. You are all I have… so man up."

Sebastian Harlow watched his daughter. She was fuming and crying and looked utterly beaten and confused. It was too much for one day, "forgive me, I will never do it again."

"And stop talking about her, I can't stand when you try to defend her,"

"…I will stop talking about her but she was my wife and I loved her. I can't promise you I will stop trying to bring you two together. Everyone needs a mother, Lola."

"Well not when you have a good father. Stupid, idiotic, mental, but good."

"You do realize those all mean the same thing, right?"

"Oh, shut up,"

* * *

Hours later in the Ministry of Magic, Alexander Sweyn sulked. He had never been yelled at like that…by anyone. Usually when someone was ever that rude and hurtful to him he would have given them a bit of their own mean medicine but all he could do was sulk. He shifted through his work load. Besides Lola's case, or the Harlow's case since now they were to take care of them both, team Hotspur- Sweyn had seven other cases. And none were easy.

Maximilian Hotspur watched his young counterpart from the doorway, " that is what happens when you are the best, love, no sleep for the busy."

"that is not how the phrase goes," Alexander spat venomously, it was all his fault that Lola hated him, they were being so careless with their most important case, he thought. If they just stopped distracting themselves and sleeping less they could protect her and her father better, "close the damn door before you speak to me that way."

Maximilian Hotspur conceded with a wry and tired smile and closed the door. Cautiously he headed for the seat next to his young lover. Alexander threw his files there before Max could sit.

Max chuckled, "seriously?"

"It was entirely your fault,"

Max couldn't help but smile at the fact that even pissed Alexander was breathtakingly handsome, "it was _our _fault,"

Alexander looked up at his teacher with angry, wide eyes, "if you had not seduced me our full attention would have been on this case, our most important case and possibly the most important case of this new era!"

Max tried not to look so smug but the fact that Alexander thought he had any control over his feelings for him made him roll his eyes, "it is a case like any other…you are getting too attached,"

Alexander tried to smother his bubbling feelings of rage and hurt, "maybe I was never meant to be an auror,"

"Nonsense," Max said as he lifted the weighty files and moved them to the ground, quickly seizing the seat before Alexander could fill it with another shield…another distraction, "you are the best and brightest of your entire generation. You did not even need to be an apprentice. You really could have gone straight into your own career."

"So?" Alexander said reaching slowly for his wand. He was not going to let his master win so easily.

Max seized the moment and took Alexander's hands in his and pulled him into a kiss. Alexander rolled his eyes and turned away, of course, but the feel of his full lips, even for a moment, always revitalized Max. He settled for the nape of Alexander's neck.

Between soft kisses he managed to speak, "Alexander, it will be alright,"

"…don't breathe my name like that,"

Max smiled wickedly, "I love you, you know,"

Alexander was silent. Max knew he would not say it back, but it was the easiest way to shut Alexander up.

Max pulled himself away long enough to look into Alexander's dark eyes, "she will speak to you again, she has to, this is still our case. If she wants to live, she will speak to you."

Alexander pulled away from him and crossed his arms, "I don't want her to speak to me because she has to! I wish…I wish you could understand."

"I do understand," Max spoke, growing impatient, "you are getting too attached,"

Alexander glared and moved toward their shared desk. Although Maximilian Hotspur was one of the greatest aurors of their time, his office was the same one he had been given when he first started. He always complained that Harry Potter did not appreciate his work but Alexander knew that Max was still there because he liked it there. It was small, and cramped with books, maps and strange knickknacks max liked to collect from people he arrested. it was everything Max loved and Alexander had grown to.

"She…is like I was," Alexander tried to explain himself, "scared, way too proud, I mean, it is so easy for her to lose her way in that place. And she has so much more to lose than I did. I have to help her, Max."

"I know you do, love," Max's voice was at his ear and he could feel his instructor's body press against his own, "and we will. But you cannot let her emotions trigger your own like this."

Alexander let himself be held, "I know it is 'bad form',"

Max laughed at his angel's obvious way of making fun of the way he spoke. He loved when Alexander made fun of him, "very bad form, now come here and be mine for awhile,"

Alexander sighed, "We are supposed to be working and there are people out there,"

Max smiled wickedly against Alexander's sensitive neck, "then be very, very quiet,"

Like he could resist, Alexander thought as he turned around and gave in to his lover. Obsessively, one of Maximilian Hotspur's knickknacks watched them and listened to every word they ever said.

* * *

CREEPY. i know, but it is super important so do not forget it! i know that most of this story has been told through Lola's point of view but i really need to change that a little bit because i want you guys to see and understand exactly how the plot in my mind is unfolding and since Lola can't be ubiquitous (yet, i plan to make her an awesome wizard) i will have to change points of view every once in a while. besides, i thought it was about time for people to get a glimpse into lola's auror's lives. they are key characters.


	17. Chapter 17: The Golden Field

ok so inspiration has gripped me and i couldn't wait. suddenly, i realized just how perfectly this story would end. fear not, this is not the final chapter, but i predict that by chapter twenty five i will be home free, at least for Lola's first year at hogwarts ;)

* * *

Al and Scorpius waited for Lola in the Slytherin dungeon room. Some would consider it a common room but it was cold and uninviting in every way but somehow, at least to Al, Scorpius, Lola and their Slytherin housemates, it was perfectly fitting for the sneaking around, secrets and rumors spreading, and plotting that went on there. But this evening Al and Scorpius were awaiting Lola with what was most likely going to escalate into an argument. Al feared Lola would question him and Scorpius feared that he and Al's curiosity would annoy Lola. She was so secretive; he thought as she entered, he flushed at the sight of her. He sure was happy she could not read his mind.

"Um…hi," Lola had expected them there, of course, but she had not expected to see them looking more scared than angry. Had they really been more worried about her?

Al sighed in relief, she did not look as angry as he had expected her to. Maybe she had not noticed how sketchy his story had been? He put his hands on his hips and sighed again, "what are we going to do with you?'

Lola swallowed hard, had the moment of truth come already? She had hoped she would have had more time, "I can explain,"

"Why did you not tell us your muggle dad was qualified to work in the ministry as an in-between for the muggles and the wizards? That is pretty important information, Lola," Al cut in. Lola was confused but with one flash from his green eyes she understood that Al had told that lie to Scorpius, who was looking rather silly with his arms crossed and his foot tapping for her fake answer.

She could not help but smile; she had such good and crazy friends, "well, yes, he is. I mean he does work there. Anyway, he is ok now,"

Lola tried to sneak into her room but to no avail, they blocked her path. Scorpius spoke slowly and, to her surprise, vindictively, "You cannot just keep such vital information to yourself. Your dad must have been an important man in the muggle world, Lola, to have been attacked so violently. What if something had happened to you over break or something and we found out about it then? I…we would die if something happened to you, Lola,"

For some reason she liked when he got all high and mighty on her, "well, I did not want to, I don't know, scare you. You guys are high profile enough and I liked being the normal one,"

She meant it as a joke but they were not laughing. Al sighed, "You know you can trust us, Lola."

She wondered why he had lied for her…or if he even had lied for her. Maybe that was the story his father had told him? She would find out later, "I know but, until know, it really did not seem important,"

"Is he alright?" Scorpius asked cautiously, his voice was back to its soft and caring normality.

"Well, as alright as you can be after getting attacked, Harry Potter, er, I mean, your dad, I mean, well whatever, he pretty much said this was a random terrorist attack on the ministry, you know, bad wizards showing how tough they are,"

Both did not look convinced but something in Al's green eyes told her he was sure she was lying.

"Right… of course it is," he said anyway, "still, I think you should be more honest with us."

"So I should just relay all information about myself even if I think it's mundane and unimportant? Is that what friends do?" She was trying to make them laugh, yet, again, they did not smile.

"It is just that," Scorpius began, his grey eyes searched for the words, "well, out of all three of us, we literally know nothing about your life before you came here. You never talk about it with us and it is not fair. We tell you about our lives,"

Lola smiled, "because my life was not as exciting or as interesting until I came here as yours was, Scorpie,"

Scorpius's concerned look melted into an un-amused one.

Lola could not help but laugh, "but alright, from now on I will let you in on every boring detail, ok? Are we done now?" she said as she wrapped an arm around each boy's neck, bringing them close.

"No," Al began, as his faux disappointment turned into a real look of concern, "are you okay, Lola?"

Lola faltered. They really did care about her, "…yeah, it is kind of scary but… I know your dad has the best aurors on this case. My dad is in good hands."

Al smiled, "good answer,"

Lola and Scorpius laughed, "Alright enough of this," Scorpius said, "let's get some dinner,"

As they opened the door and headed up to the great hall they were practically run over by a fuming James Potter. As soon as he saw them his anger shone right through his brown eyes, "we need to talk," he said directly to Lola. Lola was shocked; who in the world did he think he was?

"Can you do that later," Al spat, interrupting Lola and James's glaring contest, "we are getting dinner,"

"She will meet you there," James seethed as his eyes landed on his younger brother's, "and I have business with you as well, but that can wait till morning,"

Before any of them could have a chance to react, James grabbed Lola's wrist and walked away. Lola did not fight him as much as she wanted to because it was going to be a fruitless effort. She had learned that James Potter's will was a monster to reckon with.

* * *

As James tried to violently pull her through the crowded halls, Lola played with her nails. He was being so dramatic, she thought, had he ever heard of being cautious or sneaky? She snorted, he probably never even heard the term under the radar before, nevertheless knew how to be inconspicuous.

Reaching their familiar abandoned tower destination, James swerved to face her, "what the bloody hell, Lola, what the bloody hell?"

Lola was surprised by the accusation in his tone, "hey, I had no power over this!" what was his problem, she thought, like she could have stopped the ministry from being attacked.

"Of course you did not," James seethed, "you are just bloody innocent,"

Lola's mouth fell open, she honestly could not believe this, "look, I am sorry if your dad freaked out or whatever id making you react like this but it is not my fault! Nor is it my father's fault, so, just leave me alone."

James looked confused, "what are you talking about?"

Lola blinked twice, "what the hell are you talking about?"

James expression went from confused to exasperated, "your bloody prank, Lola, what does that have to do with our fathers?"

"Oh…" was all Lola could say. She could almost slap herself. Had she really just given him information that he would have never known? She had assumed, of course, that her recent escapades had been his issue because she had completely forgotten about the prank. Now she had to tell him. Great, just great, she thought to herself.

"…what happened between our fathers?" James asked, his hands on his hips like his younger brother's had been just moments ago.

"Well…" Lola began, "they were both here today,"

"Why, what happened?"

"It is probably classified information," Lola blurted out and tried to leave, James got in her way, "okay, fine, the ministry was attacked today."

"What?"

"You heard me," Lola said, "and my dad got hurt in the process. Your dad came to investigate and question him. I am guessing my dad freaked out and came here as fast as he could to see me or something. He was really freaked out actually."

"…oh my god," James said absently as he sat down on some ruble from the aged tower. His brown eyes looked lost in worry, fear, and confusion, "what happened in the ministry? How did your dad get hurt?"

"Look, James," Lola began, "I know this sounds really rude but it is actually none of your business. For once I think I should listen to my superiors like our fathers and not tell you any bit of what I know-"

"Lola," James interrupted, "what happened?"

Lola did not even know why she bothered trying to get out of this, "the people we thought were only after me are possibly still after my father as well or something. Honestly, all we know is that they know where he was hiding. They broke in somehow and carved the dark mark into his arm as some sort of warning…and it is pretty clear of what. But, I mean, we are all still convinced that I am the main target because they did not kidnap my dad like they plan to kidnap me."

James mouth fell open but he remained quiet. His brown eyes bore into hers though. Lola looked away and tried to speak clearly without showing any bit of the fear she felt, "Anyway, my dad is okay now. Your dad thinks they got in with some sort of stunning bomb mix of a spell. He did not seem to know which but I do not think he will tell us anyway. Or you, by the way, so don't go sneaking around trying to get answers from him. It is bad enough you know, you shouldn't let him in on that."

"Lola…" James seemed stunned to speechlessness; Lola had not thought it was possible to see him at a loss for words.

She took advantage of his shock, "well anyway, I better go, Al and Scorpius are waiting for me,"

Suddenly James stood up and pulled Lola only inches from his face by her wrists, she was so shocked by his forcefulness that she shivered in his grip. She had never felt such a strange mix of shock, anxiousness and anticipation knot in her stomach. She could only stare widely into James's brown, unrevealing eyes.

"James," she said, he was so close but she did not try to pull away.

"Lola, I know it seems pretty unimportant now, but," he faltered.

He was so close she could feel his steady breath on her trembling lips.

His eyes bore into hers, and, calmly, he said, "we will talk about that immature prank you pulled on my yearmates later,"

Lola could not believe it. She could not believe it! She ripped her arms from his grip and angrily strode away. She had thought, well, she did not really know what she thought he was going to say or do, but it certainly had not been that! James watched her go, confused by her sudden flare of anger.

Reaching her best friends she heatedly ate her food quickly. And every bite was unsatisfying.

Al spoke carefully, "so…what was that about?"

"Your brother is an idiot," was all Lola could say as she stuffed pasta into her mouth.

"That's true," Al said, dropping it and continuing to eat. Scorpius, however, watched Lola carefully. And when James appeared and sat on his table with his friends looking confused and sparing glances over to Lola's turned back, he knew what it was all about. And he hated James Potter even more than he already had for it.

* * *

Lola got the midnight message she had received before from Headmaster Wood the next day. She knew it was about time for the second supposed 'screening' of her insane brain but with all that had happened, she was even more nervous for what they would find. When the time came and she strolled the seventh floor corridors she had completely forgotten about her argument with Alexander and greeted him normally as she always did. He smiled brightly the whole night until she fell asleep.

Jane Harlow felt sick. She fell to her knees and her sickness came right out of her. She hated throwing up, she hated being confused but most of all she hated not being in control. Wiping her mouth she sprung up a lot faster than any pregnant woman should and punched Tom Riddle right in his stupid nose.

Tom was shocked but he let her hit him. He had expected as much. He was surprised by the strength and hate in the hit, though, but he liked it. He liked hate and anger, they were feelings he could relate to from the muggle before him. He smiled and she swung again, this time he caught her wrist.

"Enough, hitting me is useless," Tom spoke.

"What the fuck are you doing to me!" Jane screamed, she was close to tears but she would not let him see her cry. Moments ago she had been leaving her job, now she was in a completely different setting. It did not make logical sense!

"You are carrying my child," Tom spoke calmly, "you have a right to know what to expect from him when he is born… and yes," he said, passing a slithering hand briefly on her stomach, "he is a boy."

"What the fuck?" Jane screamed jumping away from him, "don't do shit like that!"

"My, my, what a mouth on you," Tom said, absently, watching his surroundings, "is that how you plan on raising our son?"

"Fuck you," Jane spat, holding her belly, "what are you? What's going on?"

"I already told you, I am a wizard, the most powerful wizard in the world."

"No," Jane said, backing away from him, "you are crazy,"

"Then how did I get you here," Tom said more than asked, uncaring for her answer. He was growing impatient, "I am a wizard, accept it and save us both much time,"

Jane looked around but there was nowhere to run or hide, they were in a field, a big, open, useless field, "take me back, now," she demanded.

Tom laughed, "No,"

"You did not even know I was pregnant! You left and this kid is mine now! You have no right to claim him!" Jane desperately tried to argue.

"You are right," tom said, watching her, she looked proper with that belly, he thought, more healthy, more vibrant, "I never planned for this but you are my child's mother and therefore, important now."

"Oh, Tom," Jane could not believe it, "you are so selfish!"

"Now you are just saying the obvious," Tom said as he scanned the area again, where were they? In the heat of the moment he had sort of just gone with it. But now he had to figure out where he had just gone with?

"If you do not take me back…I have people who will look for me, you know," Jane tried to threaten but ever since she got pregnant she had become more fearful and less valiant, "I mean, you've met me, you know me…now imagine my parents."

"Completely unimportant and a waste of time, Jane, now come,"

"I am not going anywhere with you," Jane screamed, "take me back, Tom!"

"That's not my name anymore," Tom spoke absently; "it had never really been mine. Never really captured all that was me…"

He moved to grab her but she dodged his grip and started running into the higher corn in the field; obscured by it. Clever girl, he thought as he lifted himself through the air and followed her. He was surprised, again, by her agility. All that military training had not seized when she got pregnant, he thought as he watched her run to no avail, why did she always have to be so difficult? He would have to try a different approach.

Swooping down he landed a few feet in front of her and braced himself as she came running straight into his arms. Anyone else would have screamed and cried out for help, he thought, but not Jane, no, she was slashing and punching and kicking. Finally he got a good angle on her thrashing body and pulled her closed to him.

He held her until she could not raise her hands to hit him anymore and whispered in her ear, "I should not have left you,"

"Let me go, Tom!"

He fought the nagging urge to correct her, "It was mean and stupid. Jane, I never planned for you to be such a vital part of my life. I never even planned for something like this to ever happen. But it did. And I cannot let you walk away."

"You freak, let me go!"

She really knew how to test him, "no, not until you listen to me! That child you are carrying is mine, Jane, and he will be like me. So listen,"

Jane wanted to run, she wanted to hit him so hard, but she knew he had a point there. If this nightmare she was having was real and Tom did have some sort of magical powers, than it was more than likely her baby would too, "what, Tom, what?"

Tom relaxed, finally she was playing, "our child will be a wizard like me, no matter what. You cannot run from that."

"How is this even possible?"

Tom eased his grip on her, "let me show you,"

Jane violently shrugged his hands off of her but did not run, there was nowhere to go, "you aren't going to turn me into a frog or something are you?"

"No, come closer," Tom said. Jane grudgingly obeyed and they were suddenly flying. She suddenly gripped him close.

"What the hell, Tom, warnings would be good at this point," she said as her arms wrapped around him so tightly he suddenly realized how strangely happy he was about all this. He had planned it all differently, of course, but this new factor was actually…pleasant. He liked Jane. And her muggle blood might be tainted but she was no weakling. She was, at least, interesting. They flew for a while in silence and as much as Jane wanted to be anywhere but near him like this, she was too afraid to let go.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Knockturn alley, it is the simplest way I can say I am right,"

"What is that, like, your headquarters or something?"

Tom laughed, Jane Harlow sure made him laugh a lot with her ignorance, "no, it is an alleyway, that is pretty obvious isn't it? I mean, it is in the name."

Jane flared up, "how am I suppose to know your freaky world is suppose to be logical, Tom? Do not make fun of me right now,"

Tom smiled but resisted the urge to continue bothering her, she was carrying his child and he had already made her sick and angry. He realized they had actually landed a few fields away from his headquarters. He had just been there before coming to see her, it was quiet there, and he could think. Quickly they made their way in silence to Knockturn Alley as the night gave way to a grey morning. He did not need to say anything, once Jane's blue eyes got a look at the place, people and creatures sneaking around and giving her strange looks, she believed him. It was dark and seedy but it was not London as she knew it. There were strange people dressed in medieval clothes and even stranger monsters following them or walking past them. But they all only stared at her, to them, she was the strange one.

Jane let go of Tom and walked a few steps away, holding herself tightly. She could not believe what she was seeing. She looked up to see a shop sign which read, Borgin & Burkes, and as she read she took in two things, it was located in 13B, Knockturn Alley and it had been established in 1863. She looked into the shop to see a short and stocky pimply boy dressed in strange robes buying what looked to her to be human bones form an old but creepy man. Behind that boy was some sort of goblin, waiting in line to buy something. It was just waiting. And Jane could not believe what she was seeing.

"I used to work here," Tom had slithered his way next to her and was watching the exchange taking place inside the shop, "before I realized my true destiny."

"What's that," Jane said, absently as she watched the goblin pay for what looked like a small dragon, "driving nurses crazy?"

Even frightened, Tom thought, Jane remained true to her nature, "I am going to rule this world, very soon, Jane. I am already on my way. There is no one more powerful than I."

"…get me out of here, now," Jane said, turning to look Tom in the eyes, "I believe you,"

Tom considered it, "I was not done with my speech yet,"

"Please, let's go to that field, okay? We can talk there. I stand out too much here, Tom, please,"

Tom looked around; they were indeed staring at her. She was so obviously a muggle with her white, squeaky shoes and short nurse outfit. But no one would dare approach her; he was surprised they even dared to stare. He offered his hand but she wrapped her arms around him instead. He was taken aback by her actions but he wouldn't have it any other way. Today had not gone as planned, but it was going well. They flew away but Jane was quiet. Her mind was racing. He could see that she was thinking back on every moment she had spent with him and other moments in her life that now suddenly made perfectly, clear sense. She was so practical, he thought as the day passed by them. They were back in the field by sundown. He had chosen not to apparate with her. He did not want to make her sick again.

As they landed Jane did not run. She simply strode a few feet away from him and collapsed to her knees. Tom watched her.

"So what now, Jane?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing, Tom,"

"That's not my name,"

"…what is it?"

"They call me Lord Voldemort here, that is who I am,"

"So you are like royalty or something?"

"No," he said as he sat next to her, "I am just the most powerful being."

Jane considered it, "So what happens to my world once you take over this one?"

"We all live in the same world, Jane; I just plan to make all the secrets go away. They are useless,"

"So you want me to call you that now or something?"

Tom thought about it for a while before speaking, "you could just call me your husband,"

"You really fail at marriage proposals,"

"or just Voldemort, if that is what you prefer," Tom quickly said, angered that he felt suddenly ashamed, really he was angered that he felt anything at all.

"I did not say no," Jane said, shifting to lay down, she stared up at the stars, "what am I supposed to tell my parents, Tom?"

He wanted to correct her, he also wanted to say something rude like, 'I think they will figure it out when I become ruler of the world', but instead he asked, "What did you tell them when you got pregnant?"

"…they don't know,"

Tom laid down next to her, watching her watching the stars, "I never really had parents,"

"Is that why you want to take over the world, Tom? Because your life was horrible?"

It still stunned him that she was so blunt and strangely keen to all there was about him, "you could say that."

"Tom, you can't just…do that, you can't just take over the entire world,"

"Why not? Do you believe it is in good hands now, Jane? Because all this war and ignorance really goes against that logic,"

"And what are you going to do, force everyone to bow down and place nice? That's the way the world is, Tom,"

"It is not how it has to be,"

Jane watched him in the dusk light, "you look like death, Tom, what are you doing to yourself?"

"…that would take a very lengthy and confusing explanation," he said as he timidly put his arms around her and pulled her closer, she did not resist as he had figured she would. He was making progress, "but this is what it takes to be invincible."

"You look like Dracula's dried up cousin,"

Tom smiled at first, recalling the muggle picture film, then he soon was laughing hardily, "I do, but it does not matter."

"I guess your mind is made up then,"

"…yours is not," he said, stroking her black hair, it was always so soft.

"Well, I figured you were going to force me with your freaky magic to do whatever you want,"

"I could, but that might affect our child,"

Jane snorted, "How sweet of you,"

"Jane, our son has the most powerful wizard blood running rampantly through his veins, and a wizard pregnancy is not like a muggle one… it is much more intimate,"

"So that's what a muggle means…"

"Jane, are you listening?"

"Yes, Tom…but this is…incredible, like, unbelievable,"

"…marry me?" Tom asked. She would be his wife. And they would raise their son as king of the world.

Jane had tears in her big, blue eyes, "okay." They were tears of shock, happiness and unimaginable fear.

Lola woke up with those same tears in her eyes. Jane's emotions had become her own and she could not stop crying. Alexander, Sir Hotspur and Headmaster Wood could only watch.

They could not explain it away. It had not been a dream, but it was like Lola had not slept, but her brain showed that she was but accessing her own memories. But they were not her memories. How could she have access to two dead people's memories? There were no answers. Lola went to her room, still crying, still unable to get a hold of her emotions of get rid of the blazing memory in her consciousness. All of Tom Riddle's last moments before truly losing his grip on reality made such clear sense to her now. When Jane died he thought he lost everything that had ever mattered to him and he snapped. I mean, he had already been on his way there but what he felt for Jane and her unborn father had been… real. It had been tangible and it was the only thing keeping him human. It all suddenly made sense to Lola. Some of his lasts bits of humanity had died with Jane.

She had no idea how right she was.

* * *

ooooh, ah, gasp! what will happen next? okay, no more freebies. things are going ot start coming together now. quickly and, of course, full juicy HP sweetness! review, darlings!


	18. Chapter 18: Winter Breaks

Hello, darlings! thanks again for all the reviews and keep them coming. they fuel my creativity :) anywho, i was reminded that 100 points is a really, really harsh punishment for the girls so I have lowered it to 20 points each for the food fight prank. that chapter will be edited soon as well. ummmmmmmmmmmmmm well that is pretty much it. hope you are enjoying the tale.

* * *

It was the next day and Molly Weasley tapped Lola on the shoulder. Lola stopped eating and turned around. At first she did not recognize her and gave her one hell of a 'what the hell is it?' look.

"Hello, we weren't properly introduced, my name is Molly Weasley," she said, holding out her hand to Lola. Suddenly it hit Lola like a sign riding the winds of a hurricane. Her face was drained of color and she bit her lips so hard they turned white.

Slowly and timidly, Lola swallowed her sudden fear and shook her hand, "Lola Harlow,"

"Yes, I know," she said as she gave her nosy cousin, Albus, a smile and leaned closer to Lola so he could not hear, "can we talk somewhere privately?"

Lola nodded and followed the polite redhead out of the great hall. They were outside and it was terribly cold. It was also one week till winter break and Lola was so scared that she had gone half a year without anyone finding out that she had gotten careless.

"Alright so I will be honest here," Molly began as they sat down on a bench, the hallway they were in was deserted, "I have already told my sister what happened the other day."

Lola could feel her heart skip a beat, she was holding her breath.

Noticing Lola's reaction, Molly gripped her hand, "I mean I did not say it was you, specifically, but I was so, you know, affected that I told her what happened. And I regret it, I do. I should not have told anyone like Madame Diamondback told me to. But I did, and I thought you should know."

"Um…" Lola did not know what to say.

"I was scared, at first," Molly said, her eyes on Lola's, "personally I have never met a parselmouth and with my family's history…but, the point I am trying to make is, just like that snake, I think you have more of a right to be scared of me than I of you. You have done nothing to me so I want you to know that I am not scared of you, Lola, nor will I tell anyone else about what happened."

With her hand being held by Molly and the kindness radiating from the girl's eyes, Lola wanted to tell her how perfectly she had been named after her grandmother, for they shared the same unrivaled kindness, but instead, she said, "thank you,"

Molly giggled, "Besides, I would not want my cousins angry with me,"

Lola raised an eyebrow as she smiled, "cousins?"

"Albus and James, of course, they do not stop talking about you."

Lola chuckled as they parted. She walked around before potions class for awhile just thinking about the two Potters in her life. As much as she did not want to admit it, James had forged an unlikely friendship with her and the realization did not bother her as much as she thought it would. Of course, she still thought him a shameless git with no common sense but he was her friend and a loyal one at that. It seemed to be an undying trait in the Potters and the Weasleys, she mused as she passed by the halls of her school. First, Albus, then James, and now, Molly, she thought, what an awesome family.

Out of nowhere, two, identical, bulky arms latched to her arms on each side and lifted her three feet of the ground. Lola yelped before realized it was Lorcan and Lysander Scamander.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice laced with impatience and dislike. If they had expected fear, she thought, they were not going to get it out of her.

Confused, they continued with their plan, "we know you are responsible for the food fight, Harlow," Lorcan spat.

"So?" Lola asked, coolly.

Angered, Lysander grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him with his free arm, "So you are going to pay for it,"

"Boys, put her down, now," came a familiar haughty and unlikely voice. Rose stood with her feet apart and her wand at the ready. Lorcan, Lysander and Lola watched her with shocked and confused faces.

"I said now," she said impatiently.

Lorcan, the seemingly wiser one, spoke, "this is not over," he said as they put Lola down and walked away.

Rose waited till they were out of sight before she put her wand away, "not a very good representation of Gryffindor, are they?"

"Why did you help me, Rose?"

"Please tell me you have not learned that nasty habit of not accepting and appreciating help my dear cousin Albus suffers from," Rose said as she walked towards Lola.

"…thank you,"

"That's more like it," Rose said as she lifted Lola's robes, Lola was about to flinch away before she noticed some bruising. Rose sighed, "You should probably not mention this to anyone, like, I don't know, James or Albus. They are just foolish enough to do something about it."

"You did something about it," Lola said as she pushed her sleeves down.

"Well I was around," Rose said as she headed for her class, "…I mean, I was not going to let them pummel you to oblivion."

"Thank you, Rose," Lola said, honestly.

"You are welcome, Lola," rose said as she turned a corner and disappeared.

It turned out she knew four awesome Potters and Weasleys after all, Lola thought as she made her way through the dungeons that were beginning to feel more like home, Rose Weasley had her moments.

* * *

Initiating winter break had been like a mission. First Alexander had traveled to Hogwarts and had not left Lola's side from the morning he got there to the moment she was in her father's arms. Lola had not minded having him around but Alexander Sweyn acted very differently as he walked the halls of Hogwarts with her. Those that recognized did either one of two things: they glared or they saluted. Lola noted to ask him about his Hogwarts experience in another moment. Now, she would only use him to help her pack and take care of Lily Beau, who was very flustered and angry to be back in her cage again. She seemed happy to see Alexander, though, and honestly, so was Lola. She had enjoyed Hogwarts, of course. She never thought in a million years she would get the chance she had received but she missed her father and was looking forward to spending time with him, even if Alexander and Sir Hotspur were to follow them all winter break. Alexander, in a moment of calm had admitted to her that he was also happy winter break had come, because, ever since her father's attack, he had Sir Hotspur following her dad around like a guard while he checked in on Lola every once in a while in school and they hardly had spent any time together.

It had been a little strange having him on the train ride with her. Al and Scorpius did not buy their story of her dad having hired an apprenticed auror to get her safely home at first but Alexander's charm and wit soon won them over and they completely forgot their doubt. As they regaled their adventures to Alexander, he told of some of his own.

"You think that is scary," Alexander mused, "try being chased by the entire Hufflepuff quidditch team because you accidentally walked into the wrong dressing room. And, of course, since I was the resident gay guy of the school it was obviously on purpose according to them."

"Was it?" Al teased, he had instantly accepted Alexander's company when he found out he was gay.

"Honestly no, but it is kind of funny thinking back on it," Alexander said with a brilliant smile.

"You were on the quidditch team?" Lola asked. She had found out so much about Alexander on the long train ride.

"Best beater all four years I was on the team," Alexander said, looking smug for once. She had never seen him with his guard down but she liked it.

"I think I am going to try out next year," Al said, grinning.

"You skinny little thing? You better train real hard," Alexander teased, "what about you, Lola?"

"Me? I have to learn how to fly first, I am the worst flyer of the whole first years," Lola confessed.

Alexander gasped, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Lola admitted.

"Hmm," Alexander noted, "what about you, Scorpius?"

"I am not much of a sport person," Scorpius mumbled.

"Do I look like much of a sport person to you? I got into quidditch because it keeps you grounded, you know," Alexander confessed, "It can't all be studying or your brain will explode from the stress."

Hmm," Scorpius looked thoughtful, "that makes sense. Maybe I can borrow my dad's old broom and see if I am any good this winter break."

"That's a good idea, mate," Al said, "me too. Maybe we can train together when we get back to school!"

Scorpius smiled, "yeah, sure, Al, if I am any good."

They had already changed from their robes to regular muggle clothes earlier. Lola had taken a moment to look at herself in the mirror and was surprised by just how awkward she felt in the familiar clothes. She did not know how to feel about that. When they reached platform nine and three quarters they all rushed out of the train to see their families. They had already said goodbye on the train but, strangely, their families had been waiting for them rather close to each other. Al ran straight into his mother's arms as his dad scruffed up his hair even more than it already was. Scorpius's mother, Astoria Greengrass, ran up to him with a wide and beautiful smile on her lips and wrapped him in what seemed like a never ending hug. She was a beautiful woman with thick dark brown hair and smiling eyes.

When Lola saw her father waiting for her, Sir Hotspur by his side, every other thought faded away. She ran to him and he picked her up easily, like he always had, and span her around.

"Darling, it has been too long,"

"I missed you too, daddy, I'm so happy to be back,"

Sebastian Harlow put his precious daughter down, "I want to know everything."

"Sir Hotspur," Alexander greeted, putting on a show for anyone watching, as planned.

"Sweyn," Sir Hotspur said as he shook his hand, but Lola saw him spare Alexander a wink.

Lola smiled but a tap on her shoulder made her turn around. There was James and Albus, and surprisingly, their parents. Lily, their little sister, clung to Ginny Weasley's leg as Harry Potter introduced them all.

"Anyway, I hope you will consider what we spoke about a while ago," Harry Potter said as he talked to her father.

Sebastian Harlow nodded, "you will know when I know."

They shook hands and parted.

"Alex, Alexander Sweyn?" A young, tall, good-looking boy with yet black hair asked as he wrapped an arm around Victoire Weasley's thin waist.

Alexander turned around, was confused for a moment, and then shook both their hands, "Oh my goodness, Theodore, Victoire look at you two!"

Victoire smiled beautifully, "I was wondering if it was indeed you I saw strolling the halls of Hogwarts with young Lola today,"

Alexander returned the smile, "yes, it was, you look gorgeous, as always," he said taking her hand and kissing it. She giggled nervously. Lola noted that even a part Veela in the arms of another handsome man was still nervous around Alexander.

"Hey, watch yourself," Teddy Lupin joked, but his grip on Victoire notably tightened, "so you are an official auror now?"

"Something like that, you know how this business is," Alexander said.

"Don't I, I am still a junior apprentice myself,"

"Come on, boys," Harry Potter called over his shoulder.

Teddy and Victoire said their goodbyes and parted. But Lola saw Teddy Lupin spare a glance back in Alexander's direction.

James sighed, "Well, goodbye, Lola, see you in a little while," he held out his hand.

Lola smiled and shook it, "goodbye, James,"

As soon as he walked away Lola noticed Al's face and laughed, "Come on, Albus, get over it,"

"We will discuss this when we get back, mark my words, I won't forget," he said as he wrapped her in a long, strong hug.

"Yes, of course, Albus, bye bye," Lola said as she watched Albus run to Scorpius, hug him quickly and then reach his parents with a red face. Lola herself gave Scorpius a big wave goodbye before grabbing her father's hand and heading home with Alexander Sweyn and Sir Hotspur trailing behind them.

* * *

Winter break had been like a dream. With Alexander and Sir Hotspur keeping a close eye on them, Lola and Sebastian Harlow had the time of their lives. They visited all of Europe together and Lola loved it all almost as much as she loved spending time with her father. They talked about everything that had happened and had mostly pleasant dreams every night. Lola noticed that when she was happy and stress-free her dreams were pleasant and sometimes, but very rarely, not wizard related. She told Alexander this and he noted it for future studies.

As all four made their way back from the London Astoria after watching a riveting opera there, Lola stopped by a bridge, "you know, you don't have to trail behind like that!" she called back to her protectors. Sir Hotspur looked shocked but Alexander smiled widely and convinced him to come join the father and daughter with him. In conversation, Alexander confessed to have never been on such a nice vacation, even though he still considered himself on the job. Sebastian Harlow smiled and accepted his gratitude. He liked how good the boy was to his daughter even if the older auror, Hotspur, kind of annoyed him with his astute professional attitude.

Several days later they were in London when a knock came to the door. Alexander and Lola had been in a fiercely competitive checkers game while Sir Hotspur and Sebastian Harlow had their morning coffee and read their morning paper.

"Alexander, the door," Sir Hotspur said as he read his Daily Prophet. It was Alexander's turn to check the visitors.

"Eh," was all Alexander said as he did not tear his eyes off the board game. Sir Hotspur grunted as he put his paper down and went to open the door.

"It is your doctor and your blonde friend, Miss Harlow," Sir Hotspur said as he widened the door to let in a confused Dr. Stanford with an ecstatic Scorpius Malfoy by her side. Sir Hotspur's eyes fell on Alexander's questioning ones but he shrugged them off and went back to his paper.

"Scorpius, what are you doing here!" Lola asked as she abandoned the game and ran into his open arms.

"Long story short," Dr. Stanford began, "he is my nephew. Mr. Harlow, can we talk in private?" she said as she eyed Alexander and Sir Hotspur, who eyed her back.

"Yes, of course," Sebastian said as he led her to the other room.

Alexander and Sir Hotspur exchanged looks.

Lola, however, did not care as she showed Scorpius all her muggle things in her father and her's apartment.

As they settled in her room, alone, Lola turned to Scorpius with a confused smile, "is she really your aunt?"

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted, "she is my mother's oldest sister. She is also the greatest squib doctor of the century, so imagine my surprise when I found out you were her patient,"

Lola sighed, "alright, Scorpius, come out with it, what did she tell you?"

"Nothing actually, my aunt takes her patient confidentiality agreements very seriously. And I know that what she does is either help wizard families adjust to life with a squib child or help muggle families adjust to life with a wizard or witch child. But what shocked me was that your file was in her most important cases file…and there's only like two other files there."

"well, it could be one of two reasons," Lola began, swallowing hard, "number one: it is because my father is a very important man in this world and now as well in the wizarding world and since he is so high profile she keeps us at the top of her list. Or, it is reason number two,"

"Which is?" Scorpius asked nervously.

"Which is the fact that my dad knew he had magic in his blood, Scorpius,"

"What?"

Lola faltered but found the strength to finish, "my dad knew he had magic in his bloodline but since he had experienced such a hard time with magic himself, he hired your aunt to give him these pills that suppress his magic…he still takes them now. And when I was born, well, he thought it best to suppress my magic too."

"What? That's the most horrible thing I have ever heard, Lola!"

"You have to understand that magic ruined my father's life in the muggle world. It even ruined his relationship with my mother. It is why she is not in my life, Scorpius. He did not want what happened to him to happen to me."

Scorpius thought about it and it made sense but he still could not imagine, "Lola, why did you never tell me or Albus?"

"This is not something I want to share with the entire world, you know,"

"We aren't the world, Lola,"

Lola sighed, "I know, but it still a painful part of my life,"

Scorpius put an arm around her and it was comforting. She was happy to have revealed some truth of her ever expanding lies but it irked her that Scorpius and Albus did not understand a person needed their own personal space when it came to their story. They were always forcing her to reveal things she did not want anyone to know, nevertheless her best friends.

"So a squib doctor is different than a healer?' Lola asked to lighten the mood. She knew Scorpius loved to rant about subjects he knew well, which was mostly every subject.

"Oh yes," Scorpius began ranting, "Just like a lawyer is different than a squib lawyer; the ones starting with squib are always squibs who help keep order between muggles aware of the wizarding world as well as wizards who do not understand or have hope for their squib children. There are actually a lot of jobs for squibs nowadays. My aunt was one of the first squibs to show both worlds what they were missing. My mum is quite proud of her and even though my dad doesn't really like me spending time with my aunt, my mom always finds a way to let me sneak in some time with her. I really value her work."

Lola giggled, "Clearly, you get to go through her files,"

"Well, not exactly. I got in huge trouble for that but I did still convince her and my mum to let her bring me to see you, even though I am definitively not supposed to go with my aunt when she is working."

"You remind me more of a Slytherin every day," Lola teased.

* * *

"So there is no way to get her back on the drugs?" Sebastian Harlow asked.

"no safe way, no, with Lola going through puberty it is very risky to put her on the regime again after having her off it for so long, and personally, it seems a damn shame to try to confine her when she seems so happy being a witch," dr. Stanford admitted.

Sebastian Harlow lowered his gaze, even after all these years, she still made him feel like a foolish little boy, "I do not want to do that to her either, doctor."

"Then why bother asking?" Dr. Emilia Stanford asked. She had known Sebastian Harlow since he was a teenager, but lately he had been acting so differently.

"Honestly, I do not know. The director of the auror department asked me to,"

"Harry Potter?"

"…yeah,"

"Why?"

"I guess he thought it would be an easier way to be done with the problem that is Lola and I," Sebastian said as he settled into a chair.

"Strange," Dr. Stanford noted as she grabbed her practice bag and coat and got ready to go.

Before Sebastian could question her statement there was a loud ruckus outside. Sebastian and Dr. Stanford rushed out to see Draco Malfoy being restrained by Alexander and Sir Hotspur.

"Draco?" Emilia Stanford questioned as her brother-in-law met her eyes with fierce reproach, "Please, unhand him,"

As the aurors complied, Draco Malfoy smoothed his wrinkled clothes down before turning his angry, grey gaze on his sister-in-law, "what the bloody hell, Emilia!"

"You cannot just apparate into people's homes, Draco," Emilia Stanford said as she picked up his fedora hat from the floor and handed it to him.

He snatched it away, "I did not apparate in here I apparated out there," Draco said pointing to the London street, "Where is he? Where is my son?"

"Uh, excuse me," Sebastian Harlow interrupted, "this is my home you are barging into, sir,"

"I am sorry; sir, but this woman practically kidnapped my son!" Draco seethed without taking his glare off of his sister-in-law.

"Dad?" Scorpius questioned as he came down the stairs with Lola to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Scorpius," Draco's entire being seemed to relax as his son appeared before him, "why don't you ever listen to me? I was worried about you,"

Scorpius went to his father and let him embrace him, "dad, I was with Aunty Emilia,"

"Which I specifically told you never to go visit, nonetheless go to work with," Draco said as he shot Emilia another glare.

"But dad, Aunty Emilia knows my friend, Lola, she is her patient. You know, Lola Harlow, the girl I was telling you about that one time? Anyway, I made her promise me to take me to see her. It was really all my doing," Scorpius confessed, sparing his aunt an apologetic glance.

'Hi," Lola began, actually nervous to shake Draco Malfoy's hand, "I am Lola,"

Draco's grey eyes fell on her and he shook her hand but let go too quickly. There was a look of confusion on his pointy face whose only sign of aging were the dark, black circles under his eyes. Then, Draco looked upon Sebastian Harlow and there was instant recognition. He practically jumped back, pulling Scorpius behind him.

"We are leaving now, Emilia, come," was all Draco could manage to say.

"Draco, please, you've embarrassed yourself enough," Dr. Stanford said as she got Scorpius's coat, not noticing the look of absolute fear that had filled Draco's eyes.

"Emilia, now, come on, Scorpius,"

"You cannot just barge into my home-"Sebastian Harlow had begun but as he stepped up to Draco, Draco Malfoy practically jumped over to the door with his son in his arms. Sebastian and Lola Harlow knew then that he had recognized the Riddle blood in them, and they froze in place.

"Stay- stay back!" Draco said as he snatched Scorpius's coat from his sister-in-law's hands and pushed his son out of the apartment door, "Scorpius, never talk to that girl again, you hear me? Emilia!"

"What? Dad, what is wrong with you!" Scorpius almost yelled.

"I am so sorry," Dr. Stanford said, as she followed her brother-in-law out the door, "I will keep him quiet until I can get a hold of Mr. Potter with the confidentiality agreements."

All Sebastian Harlow could do was nod his head slightly. He was completely frozen in fear. The door closed behind Dr. Stanford and a moment of silence filled the Harlow abode before Alexander broke it.

"I will go inform Harry Potter myself, it will be easier that way,"

Before anyone could say a word Alexander was already gone. While Lola and Sebastian stood frozen Sir Hotspur growled more than sighed loudly and finished reading his paper.

* * *

The rest of winter break passed like a storm, quick and stressful. Harry Potter had personally seen that Draco Malfoy signed the confidentiality agreement but he did come to warn Lola and Sebastian that it had not been an easy task.

"Draco is a good man, and he will keep his word, but we have to make sure that no one else who caught a glimpse of Tom Riddle gets a glimpse of you two," Harry Potter said as he graciously accepted the cup of tea Lola had made for him.

"I still do not understand how this happened," Her father said as he took his coffee black and scalding.

"He said he recognized the eyes first and, well, you have a striking resemblance to your father, sir," Harry Potter explained, he turned to Lola and she saw his green eyes were jaded with strain, "He does not want you near his son, now, I am not condoning you to accept his terms but it would be much easier if you kept your friendship to a silent minimum, like no letters, no public displays in school. The Malfoys have many enemies and any one of them would gladly get Scorpius in trouble with his father only to kindle the fire."

"I understand, sir," Lola replied.

"By the way Albus and James say hello,"

Lola managed to smile, "tell them I said hey, sir,"

Harry Potter nodded. They talked about other things but Lola had lost track of the conversation. Her own eyes had betrayed her and practically cost her friendship with Scorpius. She was sure Draco Malfoy had already explained to his son why he did not want him seeing Lola. It was only a matter of time until school begun that she would have to find a way to cope with the situation. Harry Potter left that day leaving a sense of underlying doom in the Harlow residence. Alexander tried to lighten the mood with games and jokes and his ever present charm but to no avail. Lola and Sebastian Harlow were scared for their future, and no matter how they tried to relax, they knew that their lives would never be free of this stress again.

Finally, the day came and Lola entered Hogwarts with a fresh feeling of fear in her gut. The school looked the same if not colder and quieter. She let Lily Beau out of her cage and the red bird nuzzled her quickly before flying away indignantly. She unpacked her things and said her hellos to her roommates. Slowly, she crept towards the great hall with great, heavy steps. It was the moment of truth, she knew it, but she could not find the courage she desperately needed. Still, she crept on.

Seemingly waiting for her in the Slytherin table was Scorpius Malfoy. He was reading, as he mostly always was, and sipping on some tea. His barely noticeable white eyebrows were knit together in tension, but other than that he was as she had last seen him. He caught her staring at him and put his book down.

She sat across from him, "I know you aren't supposed to talk to me," Lola began, but Scorpius interrupted her.

"We got home and as much as I begged my father to explain himself, he did not. He and my mother got in a huge argument and it took Harry Potter's presence to bring them back into the same room. He came into my home, Lola, and made my parents sign something they clearly did not want to. I am only going to ask you this once, what happened?"

Lola had not expected him to be so to the point. She sighed, "I signed the same confidentiality agreement, Scorpius,"

"Bullshit," Scorpius declared as his hands balled into fists.

"Scorpius!" Lola was shocked at his actions. He had never shown his impatience with her like that before.

"Friends!" a loud and obnoxious voice from behind Scorpius beamed, it was Al Potter, "How good it is to be back among sane folk!"

Scorpius's anger faded as he offered his mate a spot in the table and seemed to swallow his own anger for another moment, "It is good to see you too, Al,"

Al's presence lightened the mood significantly but Lola knew the day would not end well. As soon as Scorpius got her alone she would have to explain herself. No more lies, she told herself, but the courage she had once had no trouble finding was overrun with dread.

"Hey, Al," Lola began, interrupting a conversation the boys had been having, "Alexander lent me his old firebolt broom to practice flying with a more 'civilized' broom according to him, if you want to train for next year's quidditch try outs, I wouldn't mind doing that every afternoon,"

It was the only free time she and Scorpius both had and she was going to find a way to avoid him.

Al's face brightened, "really? You want to help me train? How about it, Scorpius, you want to join us?"

Scorpius reddened, "no not really, that's around time I get my studying done,"

Al pouted, "Oh well, if you say so, but how are we going to train? I only know so much about quidditch,"

"They have books in the library," Scorpius suggested, trying to catch Lola's eyes who were staring directly at some point to the left of the table.

"Quidditch is not a game you learn from reading," an Irish accented voice said from behind Al. They all realized it was Aachen Bloom, "I can teach you,"

"That is not necessary, but thank you for the offer," Al said quickly, not bothering to turn around.

Aachen grinned, "I promise I won't train you too hard, little Potter,"

Something seemed to snap inside Al as he turned around and stood to face the older, taller, stronger boy before him, "What did you call me?"

"So confrontational," James Potter said behind Lola, "you should accept his offer if you want to join his team, little brother,"

Al rolled his eyes and without turning around said, "stay out of it, James,"

"Whatever you say, bro," James said as he moved Lola's books and sat next to her, "hello, Lola, we have something to discuss,"

"I am eating, and I have potions in ten minutes," Lola said, avoiding eye contact with him and Scorpius.

"That is fine, I will see you tonight then, dinner perhaps," he said as he stole a biscuit from her and walked away.

"We would love to get help from you, Aachen," Lola said after James left.

"Smart girl," Aachen said as he smothered Al's wild hair for only a second before Al snapped his head away, "we can start tomorrow, we have a game tonight against Hufflepuff. Feel free to come by and learn the basics."

As Aachen walked away Al sat down with an unimpressed and rather disgusted look on his face, "I hate the way that guy looks at me,"

"Whatever, free lessons, unless you rather get them from James," Lola said, gathering her books.

"Yeah, you aren't the one who gets to have a fun time being annoyed constantly… I am not little, what a buggering idiot," Al ranted as he finished his breakfast.

As Lola made her way to Potions, she expected Scorpius to come and question her some more. But instead he walked silently by her side and in class, only talked to her if it had to do with the concoction they were working on. Lola did not know which one she liked less, the questioning Scorpius or the brooding one.

* * *

so there is another little snippet full of juicy information! :) review!


	19. Chapter 19: Survival

So i have not updated in a while i was waiting for some REVIEWS but that is pointless :P

* * *

Lola had always assumed that, if she ever had the chance to go to Hogwarts, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class would have been her favorite. She did not_ mind_ being Rose's partner, especially now that they were becoming friendlier with each other, nor did she _mind_ Professor Bloom's teaching, in fact, she very much enjoyed watching him flop around the classroom emitting giggles from even Nicolas Longbottom. What she did _mind_ was how terribly dull the class was! Professor Bloom, bless his heart, was very good at explaining what he taught and everyone seemed to learn very well and on pace but the subjects were so boring! Lola had assumed from her glimpses into Harry Potter's life that there would be boggarts and other fun challenges but, it seemed, a first year's class schedule was as mild and easy as 1,2,3. Honestly, besides flying, she was always one of the top five students in all her classes.

But she could not complain. Professor Bloom was terribly entertaining and always fun to watch. He could make a joke out of anything and, when it wasn't too funny, his thick French accent was. It was the only class where the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, Slytherins and Gryffindors seemed to enjoy together. Especially since, ever since the great food fight prank, none of the first years had been bullied.

Lola was proud of herself and her girls. No matter what anyone tried to make her fell or believe, she knew it had been the only choice. And it had been such wicked fun; it almost seemed a shame not to do it once the plan had been hatched. Of course the after class detentions were woeful and weary but, together, Anjali, May, Lola and Jasminder always found ways to make each other smile. She was really grateful for them.

"Now tell me, Miss Harlow, which would you choose?" Professor Bloom asked.

Lola suddenly realized she had not been paying any attention. She blinked twice, "I'm sorry?"

Some of the students giggled, Professor Bloom sighed, "Which of the two defense mechanism would you choose against a knockback jinx?"

Lola opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, she really had no idea, "well…you see, I wouldn't use either,"

Professor Bloom looked confused, and Lola found the look quite charming on his boyish face, "why not?" he asked.

"Well…because," Lola lied quickly, "because I think it would be easier just to jinx them back, yeah, that's why,"

Professor Bloom's raised eyebrows did not look convinced but his sudden and mirthful laugh gave Lola hope, "that is pretty sneaky; I do not think your attacker would be expecting that. However, such an…offensive defense would not stop the jinx from affecting you like a disarming charm or a simple shield could," he continued to teach and Lola breathed a deep sigh of relief. She desperately had to stop daydreaming so much about nothing. As their time ended and students gathered their things to leave a shadow hovered over Lola and she looked up to see Professor Bloom. Oh-oh, she managed to think as she tried to look innocent.

"You have not been paying much attention to me for a few weeks now," Professor Bloom commented as the students left the class.

Lola considered her options: denial or confession, "I have had a lot on my mind lately,"

"Your father, perhaps?" Professor Bloom offered as he sat on his desk. Lola was confused. Professor Bloom smiled sleepily, "all your teachers were notified that he had suffered some injuries before winter break… I guess Headmaster Wood expected you to behave differently because of it so he told us."

Lola thought it strange but she figured Headmaster Wood had not gone into much detail and neither should she, "yes, it has been difficult but he has recovered well,"

"Lola, we are all here for you, you know," Professor Bloom said; his brown eyes warm and concerned, "if you ever need us."

Lola could not help but smile, "I know, Professor, but I am really okay now. You can fully expect a less dazed and confused Lola Harlow in your next lesson."

Professor Bloom returned the gesture and Lola could feel her heart melting at the sight of his brilliant smile, "that lightens my heart, Lola,"

Lola gathered her things and was steps from the door when she turned around and asked impulsively, "Professor Bloom, are you married?"

He looked puzzled by the sudden intimate question but answered quickly after tightening his tie, "no."

"Oh. Okay," Lola said as she rushed out of the room and tower so fast she practically ran Jasminder, May, Rose and Anjali over, who were talking at the bottom of the stairway. All their books fell loudly on the ground, "you guys!"

"What is it?" Rose asked, "And by the way, I would prefer 'you girls', just saying,"

Lola sighed, "…you girls!"

"What is it?" Anjali demanded.

"I am such a bumbling idiot," Lola said as she regaled parts of the tale, leaving out, of course, the part of her father, "can you believe I asked something like that?"

"Well, we all wanted to know," Anjali mentioned.

"Still," Jasminder considered, "that is very embarrassing."

"Not helping!" Lola crooned as she began to pick up her books. The girls followed.

"It does not sound too bad, Lola, it is just a question," May said, trying to be positive.

"Yeah, a personal and idiotic question that had nothing to do with anything, oh why am I such a girl?" Lola moaned.

"That was more ditzy than girly if you ask me," Rose mumbled as she finished gathering her things, "I don't understand why you are so upset, you ask and say ditzy and personal things like that all the time."

"But," Lola began before realizing the minor insult, "wait, I do not!"

"Sure you do, no offense, but asking Al and I how our younger siblings act out of the thin air is rather personal and, by the way, kind of weird," Rose confessed.

"Well," Lola tried to defend herself from the strange looks she was receiving, "I just wanted to analyze the psychological aspects of siblinghood." She suddenly realized how strange those questions had been and how out of place she really was in asking 11 year old peoples such questions. Lola had spent a lot of time either with her father or by herself in California so she only knew how to deal with grownups…not kids her own age.

The girls looked utterly confounded.

Lola sighed, "It is a muggle thing. I always liked psychology and sociology, not that any of you know what that means,"

"No, we know what those are," May said, "but it is still weird."

"Look I have never had siblings or cousins so I just wanted to know why Al is the way he is and you are the way you are and if it had anything to do with your families. I know it is creepy and strange but…it is my way of analyzing how being an only child affects me." Lola said, she wanted to admit how anything that could help her solve her illusions/visions/dreams dilemma would be more than a blessing to her at this point of the year where there were no conclusions or even possible solutions to what was happening to her. She knew she should just let Headmaster Wood and the aurors do their experiments but every time her memories or her grandparent's memories became harder to bare and Lola was so very tired of it.

May smiled, "you know, I am suppose to be the weird one, Lola that was my inheritance from my parents."

"And I the smart one with my strange experiments and haughty intellectual attitude," Rose joined in, "though I do have quite a confident outlook."

Lola sighed, "I know what you guys, er, girls are trying to say, that all that I am can't be explained by what my parents were or by other people's familial situations compared to mine, but that's all I have to go on, you know,"

"Wrong," Anjali began as she dusted off one of her books, "Studying people is not going to help you understand yourself, Lola. Do you know why?"

"Obviously, no," Lola said after a long pause form Anjali and the group.

Anjali smiled, "because you are not hidden between statistics or rhetorical explanations or any other muggle nonsense. You are tight there," Anjali said, pointing at Lola's heart, "Now stop creeping us out with your questions okay? Honestly out of all the strangeness you have ever asked, asking Professor Heartthrob if he is married has been the most normal."

Lola tried to smile, "sorry for creeping you girls out,"

"No problem, darling," Jasminder said, beaming, "you know what I have taken from this entire conversation?"

"What?"

"Permission to totally indulge my girlish behavior and find out everything about Professor Bloom!"

"I know, right, I cannot believe a man as gorgeous, clever and successful as he is not married!" Rose said, hands on hips.

As the girls gossiped about the possibilities Lola felt herself smiling among friends. They were right. There was no logical way of understanding her part in this world. All she could do was live it and live it well.

Of course convincing her aurors and headmaster of stopping the occlumency sessions was another story.

"What is wrong with you?" Sir Hotspur asked, his quill in his mouth and a scowl on his face.

"Have you given up so soon?" Alexander inquired.

"These things take time, have you even considered how this will affect your time allowed in Hogwarts by the ministry?" Headmaster Wood questioned.

"Guys!" Lola stopped them before they continued, "this is useless. We have gotten zero results."

"Not true," Alexander began, "we've gotten loads of results! Without this we would have never figured out Ocean was a culprit,"

"Or understood what triggers your convulsions," Sir Hotspur offered.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Lola commanded.

"But why? You aren't making sense," Headmaster Wood asked calmly.

"Because, it is useless," Lola repeated, "This has not helped solve what is wrong with my brain but made me more susceptible to it. Besides, I really don't enjoy the fact that you and those who employ you have logs of my family's past."

"You do realize this is deeper than you and your childish emotions," Sir Hotspur spat.

"Max!" Alexander warned.

"No, Alexander, this is ridiculous. I am not taking orders from an eleven year old whose mind can't even fathom the immensity of her own situation," Sir Hotspur said, turning his full attention on Lola, "Now you listen to me. This is beyond your health and peace of mind, Miss Harlow. You are not the only one affected by this. These people are after you will not stop until they get what they want out of you, do you understand? It does not matter who they have to hurt, curse or kill. They will get to you and your father and they will rip you to shreds trying to evoke some sliver of evil they think is tucked inside your mind."

"two things can happen, Miss Harlow: the first we stop and you somehow are allowed to continue attending this school and either kill yourself in a convulsion, because they are getting worse there is no doubt about that, or kill someone else in the process of these very violent and very frightening episodes. You have not seen yourself, Lola; you have not seen what you become or what happens around you when you are lost in one of those states of mind. You cannot imagine the damage it can cause and neither can we since we have not studied it enough. Second option is we stop and, not too surprisingly and much more likely, you are shipped into some holding cell with your father until Mr. Potter can figure out what to do with you. Now think before you answer me, does that sound _useful _to you?"

The room was silent as they stared each other down. Lola could not believe it. They first time he ever speaks to her as a normal human being and he explodes on her, she thought, what an animal! Still, his words cut deep into her consciousness and under all her struggling she knew he had many points.

"This won't help me," Lola tried to explain; "it just distracts me and puts me on edge all the time."

"Do you know why Dr. Stanford visited us during winter break, Lola?" Sir Hotspur asked, impatience emulating from his being, "because Mr. Potter, our grand director, had no faith, like you, in our mission. So his solution was to pump you full of those drugs again and hope that it was enough to destroy that connection or whatever it is that causes you to convulse. If so, then he had plans to put you and your father in ministry custody for the rest of your lives,"

"…my father would never allow that,"

"What choice does he have when he is the one most scared of the outcome?"

"Max," Alexander threateningly whispered.

"What?" Sir Hotspur turned to his young apprentice.

"Stop,"

Sir Hotspur rolled his eyes and turned back to Lola, "anyway,"

"Stop, Max, stop being so selfish!"

"Selfish!"

"Enough," Headmaster Wood intervened, "I have heard enough. Lola, it is yours and your father's choice whether or not to continue this path but Sir Hotspur speaks the truth…there are not many other options. I know it has been a long, tiring and barely fruitful process but it is the most that can be done without turning to extremes."

"…this isn't fair," Lola mumbled through trembling lips wanting to reveal her fear, fatigue and anguish.

"No it is not. We have all come to expect way too much from you, Lola," Headmaster Wood said, shooting Sir Hotspur a warning glance, " but in the end we will do whatever you and your father choose to be the best for yourselves."

"Certainly not what is best for everyone else," Sir Hotspur mumbled as he left the room. Alexander sighed and angrily went after him. Lola could hear muffled versions of their arguing outside.

"He cares too much," Headmaster Wood said, organizing papers into folders. The white room seemed darker after all the arguing.

"Who Alexander?"

"No, Hotspur. This is his biggest case, you know, and he wants to be right. He needs to prove you are capable of being stable. He needs to find a way of fixing your problem. Cases like yours become his way of proving his abilities. But this is….something beyond all of our abilities to solve, Lola, especially if we do not have your cooperation,"

"…I can't concentrate in school; I can't even sleep at night anymore,"

"I know," Headmaster Wood confessed, "luckily you are naturally gifted."

"A family trait, most likely," Lola commented sadly.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it is not very relevant, is it? In the end, all that matters is that you are healthy and can live a normal wizard life, Lola. If that cannot be achieved then other people's affectedness becomes a priority in this case. I know he has his points, Lola, and I do find it odd but I do agree with him on some things, which would be a very rare occasion for us. But I have to say that he is expanding the casualties when there hasn't even been a disaster yet."

"Sometimes I really don't understand a word you say,"

"For an eleven year old girl who uses words like 'susceptible' and 'employ' successively you are rather clueless… what I meant was, Hotspur wants to make a national security case out of you when, right now, the only ones truly affected by your problems are you and your father."

"You think I am being stupid, don't you?"

"No not stupid, never stupid, I just believe you to be giving up far too quickly."

Alexander and Sir Hotspur entered the room and while Alexander went back to where he had been sitting, Sir Hotspur lingered by the door, "…I am sorry for yelling at you," he said in Lola's direction.

"…it's okay, you had some points," Lola said.

"I know," Sir Hotspur said quickly before wincing, "what I meant was… what are you going to do then?"

"…I guess go to sleep so you guys can analyze this," Lola said, offering Alexander's surprised face a reassuring little smile.

"Oh good," Sir Hotspur mumbled before he caught Alexander's angry glare and straightened up, "I meant, let's get started then."

* * *

Jane did not know where she was. There were strange, hungry faces staring at her and her stomach and all she could do was look down to her trembling hands. Had Tom noticed her dread? Did he even care? Slowly she spared a glance in his direction to see him commanding some fidgety, brown haired, mousy individual on how the nuptials would go. He stood tall, his bald, grey head up in the air with his…what was left of his nose sticking out. She wanted to melt away into nothing. There was no way out without risking her life and her baby's. There was no way out.

"What is your name?" A cat-like voice purred directly behind her. Jane turned slowly to look into the frustrating eyes of a tall, beautiful woman with long, thick, shining black hair. Her thin lips were curved into a polite yet tight smile and her dark, heavy-lidded eyes looked about to burst into tears or just as well into madness. Instinctively, Jane backed away. The woman smirked for a moment before returning to her tight smile, "The woman of the dark lord flinches because of me? …what an honor."

"Wife," Jane corrected, "in a few moments," turning back. She had no intention of speaking to Tom's followers.

The woman circled her like a vulture holding out her hand to her when she caught Jane's eyes again, "I am Bellatrix," the woman said. Jane sighed deeply and moved to shake the woman's hand but instead Bellatrix took it and bowed, kissing her fingers. What the hell?

"…uh, Jane…Harlow," Jane bowed her head slightly, maybe it was their custom?

"I know your name I know who you are…" the woman said…staring hard at Jane's hand, which she had not let go of. Jane had had it with the crazy bitch.

She tore her hand away from the grip and glared down, "what is your problem?"

"…how charming your accent is…forgive me, I just wanted to know what hands that caress the Dark Lord were like. You are with child…"

It was not a question and none of her response had been mumbled, Bellatrix had been direct. Jane wanted to run and never, ever look back. Her spine tingled thinking of how horribly wrong the entire night had gone... how wrong the entirety of her life had gone…

"I have a son on the way, yes," Jane heard herself say before her throat clamped up.

Bellatrix's dark eyes looked almost human for a moment, "…a son…for the Dark Lord to teach. An heir to an eternal reign. Bared by a muggle wife…how fitting…."

"…I prefer non-magical…"

Bellatrix's barking laugh came out slowly but at full force Jane knew she would never let her guard down around the crazy woman before her. There was true madness in her eyes and it could break in any second.

"Sit down, Bella," Tom demanded, "we are starting."

A flutter of the beauty hidden inside Bellatrix's dark eyes flashed when they met Tom's and Jane knew why Bellatrix had looked so close to tears. She nodded her head and sat calmly in the bench behind them. Jane did not want to turn her back to her but forced herself to face the mousy, dark-haired man that was to marry her to Tom…forever binding. Jane had not considered having Tom in her son's life before all of this. It had not really mattered. Her son would have a doting mother and grandparents that would be just as fulfilling. There were nights she had cried for the lack of security or steadiness in her life but she had blamed it on her hormones. She had grown up like any other little girl wanting to get married and have a family but that was not what life had intended for her. But now…now her son would grow up to be…like his father. Or worse, destroyed by him.

Tom was watching her. She looked up from her clenched hands, everyone was watching her.

"Do you, Jane Harlow, take the Dark Lord as your husband and master?"

Tom groaned, "Stick to the regular ceremony, Rodolphus,"

Their wedding maestro flinched but looked to Jane to answer.

"I do," she heard herself say. If she did not calm herself she would have a heart attack. Breath in, breath out, you are far from this, you are far away and safe. It would be moments before the death of life as she had known it to be. Jane could run away, but get how far and for how long and at what cost? There was no easy way.

"We are married," she heard Tom say and looked up at his fading yet smiling face. He looked triumphant. She wanted to break his skull in.

"…what now?"

Tom chuckled, amused, "patience, my wife, patience,"

Jane wanted to scream and let her tears of agony drown them all. At least then her child would be dead and not have to be here. Not have to become a monster. Not have to die for it. Better he die now, before tasting the life that would befall him. There was a man at the door Tom was leading her to with a knife in his belt. She could grab it. She could kill her son she could take their lives… take them far away from there. All she had to do was reach out and take it. It would take seconds. She had been trained well in the military. There was no way they could stop her or save the baby…..they passed the man as he opened the door for them obediently. Jane was crying. While all around thought it had been glee, Jane cried because she could not do it. She could not kill her baby.

* * *

When Lola woke up she had those tears in her eyes again but something was different. She was tired…and she was strapped down to the bed by leather and chained restraints. A flutter of panic compressed her before she saw Alexander against the white wall opposite her, being held up by Sir Hotspur. He looked hurt, out of breath…and in shock. The restraints disappeared and Lola sat up to see Headmaster Wood sitting near her. When their eyes met she knew something bad had happened.

"…what did I do?" Lola asked, not really wanting or ready to know the answer.

"I told you not to unchain her," She heard Sir Hotspur's angry and scared voice grumble. His attention had not swayed from Alexander who was starting to breathe normal again.

Headmaster wood simply rolled his eyes and turned back to Lola, "your body seems to flare up with magic when your emotions get out of control. Mostly when you are extremely frightened. It has happened before…but not quite like this."

"Did I hurt him?" Lola heard her voice crack with emotion as her body started to go rigid.

"…Alexander, against his better judgment, attempted to restrain you before you hurt yourself with the way you were convulsing you could have easily broken your own neck. Unfortunately he did not think to do this with magic. Your body reacted defensively. Lola, nonverbally you used dark magic and it took the entire room and Sir Hotspur and I to restrain it in here…I have never had to fight something so strong. We are calling it in. This cannot be contained, Lola,"

"you mean I cannot be contained…" Lola felt all the blood in her face fall and the tears fall from her eyes but could not wipe them away. She hadn't the strength.

"oh for goodness sake's stop fretting over me," she heard Alexander's voice, moments later he was leaving in front of her, "Your name should be, Riddle, Lola. Do you realize this? Do you realize the implications?"

"Alexander, this is no time," Headmaster Wood began.

"We are not calling this in,"

"The bloody hell we're not, she almost killed you,"

"Tom Riddle was married!" Alexander screamed, "And Lola is his legitimate heir. By the power of law and magic…the death eaters after her must know this. No wonder they are so desperate to get to her,"

"Be reasonable, young auror, do not let your emotions get in the way of order," Headmaster Wood warned.

"Reasonable? Did you not see what I did? While you two old men were fretting over _containment_ of all the god damn things I was watching the memory. And I was watching her," Alexander turned back to Lola, "your bloodline to him was already a great risk, Lola, but you are a legitimate heir and therefore, by under the laws of magic and of this country, all his assets are yours and your fathers. Including his wand, Lola! Now the ministry will never, ever, let you near the few possessions they have under lock, key and dragon but if you will it, if you command it to obey you, one of the darkest wizards of all time's most powerful weapon will come to you and obey you. With a wand that powerful they can do anything, Lola, anything."

"You are acting like it's the Elder wand, it's just a dead man's wand, Alexander," sir Hotspur snapped.

"Wrong," Alexander snapped back, "you are wrong. 'The blood of the man with the strength of his wand, captivated by sacrifice will be strength enough to-"

"Be quiet," Sir Hotspur demanded, "there is no way to bring back the dead."

"He is not dead," Alexander seethed, "…we were wrong. And this is far more serious than any of us could have imagined."

"What was that? What did you just say?" Lola demanded, looking form Alexander to Sir Hotspur, who were in a fierce glaring war with each other.

"it is part of a very complicated, very obscure dark ritual," Alexander said, "I have seen it performed on a man who had hidden part of his soul into a single horcrux, it became all the rage for dark wizards after the death of Voldemort. Third man had been killed in a battle with the ministry and his horcrux had been his sister. Her blood and their younger brother's sacrifice, among other poor souls had brought the man back. I saw it…everyone who has the file has."

"This is ridiculous. Do you know how much time and effort and not to mention control of dark magic you need to perform that ritual?" Sir Hotspur challenged.

"Not much if you were there to witness it,"

Sir Hotspur's face tightened, "…Ocean,"

"The scar on her neck is from the woman who performed the ceremony, her brother's wife's hands. She lived because Harry Potter and many other aurors, including you, stormed down and sequestrated everyone down there. She was supposed to be part of the sacrifice to bring her brother back to his wife. It worked, somewhat, he was indeed back but the bastard ended up in Azkaban with his pretty little freak of a wife. The sole survivor, Ocean, disappeared from Ministry custody and reemerged as a far more revolting character than her dear brother…and now she is after you, Lola,"

"…you were there?" Headmaster Wood asked Sir Hotspur, utterly shocked.

"…yes, I was, I am the one who healed her back together," Sir Hotspur said as he let himself lean against the wall. He was considering the variables. He was considering Alexander's proposition.

"…What are you saying? They are going to kill me and my dad and probably other people to get their dark lord back …am I a horcrux?"

"There is no easy way to say…" Sir Hotspur began before Alexander could speak, "you could or could not be. It does not matter. They might attempt it anyway. There is no real way to understand a human horcrux nor if you are one. He never met you so it would seem impossible…"

"Seem impossible? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Magic rarely makes logical sense, Lola," Headmaster Wood began, "If we entertain this idea for a moment… it would seem that if you were a horcrux it would be because the life Tom Riddle sealed into your grandmother transferred to your father when she died. I do not think that is possible, but with Voldemort I will entertain any idea at this point. And then somehow, when you were born…it transferred into you? This is a highly volatile assumption, Alexander,"

"I don't want to believe it either…but the truth before us remains unclear. A horcrux is a part of one's soul…it could very desperately want to keep alive and have the will to. We will have to entertain this as a possibility. It is the only way to explain these…memories,"

"But Harry Potter never had this ability," Sir Hotspur argued.

"He was an unintentional horcrux… I have reason to believe Jane Harlow was not," Lola's sudden and calm voice silenced everyone. She was lost in her own conclusions now, "think about it. When she died, he _felt _it. He felt his soul that resided in her fading and he freaked out… it makes sense…"

"What are you talking about, Lola?"

"The first dream I had…it was the only clue I needed. It happened first for a reason…"

"The first dream…" Sir Hotspur questioned, "What happened in your first dream?"

Lola wanted to explain but her fast working brain wouldn't let her. He had lost his most valued Horcrux…. Jane Harlow. And when she died he stopped feeling it or must have confused it with the many others he had made. Not even Voldemort would have fathomed it transferred to his son! Or maybe it had always been her father, maybe Sebastian Harlow had been the horcrux.

"Lola? You saw Jane Harlow die?" Headmaster Wood asked.

"yes, it was so long ago…" as she recalled the tale as best she could her mind kept creeping back to the image of the plain girl with the grim scar on her lithe neck…Ocean. That girl had grown into a horrid woman, and she was coming to kill her.

* * *

Any ideas, any questions, any thoughts? let me know in a review!


	20. Chapter 20: freak

Headmaster Wood and Sir Hotspur had agreed to not call the investigation in yet due to Alexander convincing them to continue it on their own with more advanced safety precautions. She knew he was partly doing it to keep her in school and out of lock, key and…dragon like the rest of Voldemort related dangers were but she saw in his eyes the spark curiosity builds in man…he had to solve it on his own. She was his mystery and if she knew Alexander at all it was fact that he would not let anyone get in the way of him solving it…solving her. The possibility, slight, unlikely and utterly ridiculous, of her being a horcrux stunned her to the marrow of her bones. If it was true…there was no hope for her having a normal life ever again. If it wasn't…then there could only be a worse explanation for her dreams and convulsions. She did not want to be so pessimistic but, like her grandmother, she knew there was no way she could get out of this happy or alive. And it would not be both, nor, did she think, the first would come easily.

The only thing she could do was focus on her life, one step at a time. She and Al had their first practice with Aachen Bloom tonight and if anything would take her mind away from this, even if it was just a little while, it would be attempting to fly. The afternoon felt soggy and cold as she made her way into the field Aachen had specified earlier. Al was already there, leaning against a lonely looking quidditch goal post, looking himself like his father. It always surprised her how alike they looked and how different they acted. Then again, Scorpius was the spitting image of his own father…and her own eyes were the same as a monster's had been.

"Ah, there you bloody are, it is freezing and boring out here, mate, try to be on time next chance you get?" Al complained as he shook himself warmer.

"…where's Aachen? And I am not that late,"

"Hell should I know, and it has been ten minutes since the aforementioned _planned_ time of arrival, not suggested, not implied, planned,"

"Gosh, you are such a sissy prat when you are cold and nervous,"

"Nervous, I am not nervous! Do I look nervous?" Al's green eyes looked, well, nervous.

Lola felt her body wanting to smile and she let it, slightly. It felt good to relieve some stress. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Aachen Bloom and someone else approaching, "you look gorgeous now here they come,"

Al narrowed his eyes at her before turning to see in the direction of the approaching…boys, "who is that he has got with-"

They both knew who it was and, at the same time, exclaimed, "James?"

"'ello, little ones, how was your day?" James Potter teased.

"What are you doing here?" Lola asked, looking him up and down, he had a broom with him and he was dressed in his quidditch attire.

"I asked him to come teach you to fly that thing while I get started on this one," Aachen said simply, "it would be an awful waste of time to try to teach you both two different tasks and James was valiant enough to offer his aid with you. I have seen you attempt to fly and, frankly, don't really want to deal with that."

Lola could have ripped the little Irish bastard apart but James's smirk received her full on glare. What a prick!

"Since when do you two converse?" Al questioned.

"You are asking the wrong questions, little brother, classic rookie mistake. You have a lot to teach him, Aachen,"

"Yes I do, James,"

"Ugh, boys," Lola turned to Al with a defeated expression and he returned it, albeit a lot more exasperated before heading out in the field with Aachen. Lola turned her attention back to James, "so you just happened to offer your aid, eh?"

"Now we can spend time together without anyone questioning us, Lola,"

"I don't want to spend time with you,"

James smiled, "good to see you too, Lola,"

The lesson was long and arduous and it did not help that the Weasley impatient gene had come with those brown eyes of James, but by the end of the lesson he had gotten her to sit still and keep the broom still while she was on it. He scolded her on the food fight prank, of course, and she let him seeing as how she lacked the strength, or at the moment the concentration, to tell him off.

"You do realize you are only saying this because I made your bacon attack you," Lola rebutted after a long speech from James, "if it had been anyone else you would have enjoyed it, therefore, you are a total hypocrite, James Potter,"

"Wrong, I would never condone something so incredibly foolish, Lola. If people found out this had been you…you could have gotten seriously hurt."

"I can handle myself,"

"No…you cannot," the look on James face revealed all of what he meant.

"Oh I see, you think if someone provokes me I will just convulse all over them and take them out, one swift swoop, huh?"

"No, I think if someone attacks you, you will get hurt. And I don't care what happens to them, Lola,"

"Al warned me about you, I should have listened,"

"Al," James began, grabbing her broom and hand to steady her, "is a straight up fool and doesn't have any idea of how to deal with me or anyone for that matter. Don't do it again,"

"Why do you even care?" Lola asked, trying to slither her hand away, but James's hand tightened over hers.

"I don't know…"

"Hooray, three hours and you only got her to sit on the damn thing without falling or freaking the broom out," Aachen teased as he and a red-faced Al walked up to them, "congratulations, professor,"

"Why are you so red, Al?" Lola asked, slipping her hand out of James's grasp before Al could notice.

"…so much…dodging…" Al managed to say before he collapsed onto his knees.

"…what did you make him do, professor?" James asked, sending an incredulous glance to his little brother.

"Just dodge a few hundred bludgers, basic stuff, you know,"

"Ah, I see, so technically you did not teach him anything of use,"

Aachen smiled, "no, not yet, I got to break him in first. I say we are pretty even this first round,"

"And I would have to agree with you,"

"Oh hell," Al questioned, "what are you two blabbing about?"

"Well, little brother," James began, "when I agreed to help Aachen-"

"So graciously," Aachen mockingly offered.

"Yes, graciously, we could not help but compel ourselves into a little rivalry. Whoever teaches their student the most wins the round the more rounds won the overall winner emerges."

"It is just healthy competition, really," Aachen added, for support.

"Oh, yes, of course!" James agreed.

Lola scoffed, "whatever, let's go, Al,"

"Totally," Al said as they left the older boys laughing in the darkened field, "that was bloody terrible."

"You are telling me, you might have a drill sergeant but I have Mr. I-am-always-right," Lola commented, "…yeah, you are right, you have it worse."

"I can't feel my legs," Al complained.

"…you are walking pretty normally," Lola observed.

"Yeah that's because I am trying to keep my dignity in place. As soon as I get to my room I am going to probably die."

"…was it worth it?"

Al's green eyes fell on hard on her grey ones, "of course it was, Lola! Never give up, never surrender…I am not letting that prick Aachen get any satisfaction out of me."

Lola wanted to laugh but held it down, "you say this now…"

"I mean it! He may be cute but he is downright evil…he shows no mercy, Lola! It is terrifying knowing there are people like that in the world."

Lola thought of her grandfather for a split second, "…you think there is any hope for those kinds of people?"

"…yeah," Al answered after a moment, "you just have to show them no fear, you know, ah, bollocks this is fucking torture,"

"Kind of like that, right?"

"Exactly like that, now help me to the dungeons before I start crying like a little girl,"

* * *

Soggy ground…oh how Lola Harlow _hated _soggy, muddy ground. She had her boots on, and she did not exactly _mind _getting them dirty but it was the sound, the feeling of stepping in the soggy wetness that just twisted her insides and burnished her bones. Lola did not really understand why it was such a pet peeve of hers but that damn Peeves the intolerable nuisance sure seemed to love reminding her of it. All the first years, as well as most of the older students, found the poltergeist a pain on their sides and this only seemed to feed his incessant chaos. But, lately, his ironically constant random chaos was somehow… welcome. Lola would sigh and roll her eyes but it was nice having something constant in her life that did not completely drain her of energy.

Her father was writing to her more and more. That would have been nice if he was not so pessimistic. She knew that she was the only person Sebastian Harlow could honestly confide in but London made him so damn cranky, well, London and the circumstances. Her father would tell her of his horrid job at the ministry and the characters he was practically being forced to deal with. She felt bad and sometimes guilty reading his letters… but then he would tell her stories of his youth in London and all over the world, even stories involving magic. Those letters made her feel so close to her father it was like he was almost there with her in the confusion and anxiousness. He was the closest person who she thought could feel how she did at this time and now that her body was freaking out over puberty and magic she needed someone close to confide in back.

Al and Scorpius were becoming such a huge part of her life. She spent most of her free time with Al, James and Aachen, learning and joking and laughing for a few hours of the day instead of worrying. And she would walk home with Al and just talk about the day or anything at all. He was comfortable with her and she really appreciated his trust in her. It meant something to her. Her Slytherin logic (paranoia) told her that a time would come up, a perfect moment, when she would be able to tell Al about her truest worries and she held on to that belief with full force. At least she had decided to tell him at all at some distant point in the future and at this point in her life she felt that was a big enough step. He told her a lot of how awkward yet intense it was learning from Aachen. He was a tough little teacher but he was teaching him well and Lola liked Al having someone besides Scorpius to fawn/ get anxious over.

Although she spent less time with him now, Scorpius's influence was prevalent in her. She was studying hard now, and as the classes were winding up to exam time, she truly appreciated this newfound focus on study he had instilled in her earlier in the year. Her classes, besides flying, had come easy to her but it always helped to be prepared, especially if she truly wanted to utilize her magic for the future. He was silent and distant from her too, I guess taking her hint to stay out of her life for a while. And that was awkward since they had double potions and were partners for that class but Lola found herself regretting the choice not because of school but because she truly missed him. She missed his constant blush and embarrassment; she even missed his barely-there raised blonde eyebrows silently judging but mostly making Al and Lola laugh at their own wickedness. Al tried hard to bring the two of them together but it was clear that Scorpius wanted nothing to do with Lola for the time being. He was still angry at her for being so secretive about the relationship with James Potter she tried so desperately to hide from them and Lola could not help but feel he was being ridiculous.

Al cared about the apparent James Potter issue too but he was not making too much of a big deal about it. Scorpius, however, disapproved and when Scorpius Malfoy disapproved of something, it was forever. She thought he was a lot like his grandfather in that aspect but she would never utter the thought to Scorpius or anyone else for that matter. Eventually it would get back to him and she would truly lose him forever. But at this point James Potter was going to be a force in her life and, against her desire, she kind of appreciated it. She still was not comfortable talking about her worries with James but she felt that if she ever had to she could and he would be there for her no matter what. The pompous Gryffindor loyalty was valued at this point, but Lola told herself that once she found the courage to tell Al she would distance herself from his older and unpredictable brother.

Yet, here she was, in the mucky, soggy ground, with Peeves laughing at her waiting for the Gryffindor to show up for their lesson. It was odd that Al was not here yet since he was always there at least a few minutes before her.

Closer came the weird, audacious poltergeist, "little hollow Harlow, you look a fool here! Not that you ever don't look like a fool, hahahaha,"

"Hey, Peeves…" Lola greeted drily, she would usually foam at the mouth at his 'nickname' for her but she thought it would be best to keep it civil with Peeves, and she didn't want to feed his fire for chaos.

The mischievous spirit continued to laugh at point and giggle at her for a good half hour before speaking again, "You do realize, little fool, that those you torture with your horrible flying are at the most important quidditch match up of the year, right?"

At the sight of Lola's realization Peeves almost choked on his laughter and flew away. Lola sighed and bit her lips tightly to keep her anger and frustration with herself to herself but that self restraint was failing quickly. Of course, today of all days was the final match-up between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins and EVERYONE was there. No wonder the halls holding on to the last bits of winter were so quiet. She mentally smacked herself and headed for the fields.

It was quiet where she was but she could hear the rumble of the game and the crowd although she was a good mile away from the stadium. It amused her how into quidditch everyone was. Personally she thought of it like every other sport, boring, confusing and overall not worth being obsessed over, but she figured mostly she couldn't imagine flying so dangerously for fun. The disarming spell hit her hard and she fell to her knees since it hit her from behind. Her wand went flying into the ravine in front of her but it felt like the wind had been punched right out of her. Breathless, she turned to see Headmaster Wood, Alexander Sweyn and Sir Maximilian Hotspur with wands pointed in her direction. They were surrounding her. She wanted to scream but there was no breath and no one around to hear her.

"Forgive us, Lola, but we have been ordered by the Ministry to take you under their custody, we cannot risk you anymore," Sir Hotspur spoke clearly but as she heard it she did not believe it. Panic was growing and she could not believe this was happening. She needed more time, she needed to get away, she needed to breathe, and then, it all went black.

* * *

She was in a bed. There were warm covers wrapped about her lovingly. There was a sweet bit of sunlight warming her skin. At first Lola thought she was back in her bed in California and life had been another dream but the air was still cold and there were voices talking in hushed tones.

"There is no control here, Alexander, what you are proposing is not only dangerous it is blasphemous," Sir Hotspur spoke.

"The ministry would destroy us and most importantly destroy her," Headmaster Wood spoke, he sounded exhausted.

Alexander scoffed, "dangerous? For who, for you, grand auror? Or for you, wise headmaster? We are supposed to be trying to help her. If we give up we are destroying her ourselves."

"How dare you!" Headmaster Wood's voice was tense and hurt and angry.

"You are acting strangely, Alexander, you are becoming obsessed with the idea of curing her," Sir Hotspur spoke calmly, although there was great stress in his voice.

"it is my job, I do not let my personal life get in the way of that, you both should follow suit… this is not only our duty but our responsibility. She needs us and I am not letting you two give up for fear out of all things."

"…I see," Lola heard herself speak, "this was a new way of analyzing what's wrong with me…you scared me to death, jerks,"

It was suddenly silent for a while but she felt Alexander's strong hand cover her own, "you weren't supposed to hear any of that,"

"…what happened after I blacked out?" Lola asked opening her eyes slowly to take in the brightness of the familiar white room.

"It was absolute darkness," Sir Hotspur's voice ringed in, "you almost killed all three of us without uttering a single magical command as far as we could tell. You also were wand-less which is of great note to remember. You were talking to your grandfather and great, black waves of some sort of magic kept us from getting to you…you've been unconscious for two hours."

Lola closed her eyes and began to weep. It was an uncontrollable response but it was all she could do. She wrapped herself in her own arms and the blankets and wept.

Alexander's eyes filled with concern and turned to his contemporaries, "we just have to keep her calm and stress free, and all our data points to this solution, gentlemen. If we tell the counsel about the…more explosive findings they will incarcerate her and her father or worse, we all know this."

"Maybe it is for the best, Alexander," Sir Hotspur spoke evenly. He was suddenly next to Alexander and holding his chin towards his own face to keep his eyes on his, it would have been a very loving gesture if both had not been furious with each other, "it is the only sure way to keep the death eaters from getting to them and causing everyone pain."

"No, we can protect them! We are aurors damn it that is our job," Alexander said, slapping Sir Hotspurs hand away. He turned to Headmaster Wood in exasperation, "we cannot just give up."

"Harry Potter told us to find out what was affecting her, Alexander, and we cannot in good faith 'misplace' the data we have uncovered. But," Headmaster Wood was by Lola's side now, stroking her hair as she wept endlessly, "we have not come up with the source yet, therefore, we cannot stop now."

Alexander's face filled with joy, "do you mean it?"

"We have a few months left, Lola," Headmaster Wood spoke, " there is still a chance that we can stop this."

"This is ludicrous," Sir Hotspur spat and left the room. Alexander sighed, bowed his head to the Headmaster and left after his furious lover.

"Lola, you have to try and compose yourself," the Headmaster spoke. Pulling away from her side and waiting for her to control her sobs.

"Why are you doing this? I know you think just like sir Hotspur," Lola said through slowing sobs.

"Because you and your father are people just like me that deserve a shot at a normal life," Headmaster Wood spoke calmly, "and I do not completely agree with him, thank you very much. I do not really agree with either of them but, then again, it is a highly complicated issue and their…relationship only adds to their tension."

"…you can't do that again, ok?"

"It was a reckless venture indeed. But we learned a lot. You have my word though, it will not happen again."

"You couldn't see him, could you?"

"Whom?"

Lola struggled but voiced her fears, "Voldemort, he wasn't really there was he? He is in my head…"

Headmaster Wood shifted on the side of the bed uncomfortably, "I do not know how to answer you, Lola,"

"What-what do you mean?" Lola asked, bracing herself for his answer. She ignored the sudden flutter of hope that filled her.

His eyes met hers, "we could hear a voice responding to yours, Lola, but no, we did not see anyone…"

"Oh my god," Lola whispered, unable to understand the rush of feelings in her heart.

"…it gets worse; Lola…the voice was coming from your mouth."

* * *

She was a freak. No, she was worse than a freak she was a menace to society. Something was desperate to get out of her and Lola was not equipped to handle this. Headmaster Wood tried to get her to talk about how she was feeling before finally letting her go but she could not find the words or the courage. At first she had felt relief in knowing that she wasn't completely insane. She wasn't talking to ghosts…but it was worse, she was talking to something inside of herself. She had to be a horcrux. There was no other explanation.

She was walking swiftly through the crowds of brightly colored quidditch fans getting back from the game when a hand wrapped around her arm and stopped her. She instinctively pulled out her recovered wand and almost hexed the life out of James Potter.

"Down, tiger,"

"Not now, James," Lola said, attempting to slide away from him.

"Wait," he said as he pulled her into an open courtyard, she could feel the stares and glares they were receiving all over her.

"What, James, what?"

James looked hurt at her brashness; shyly he spoke, "where were you? We won and I looked for you but I couldn't find you."

"What, so you can rub it in my face, James, I don't care about stupid quidditch,"

"What? No, Lola, I mean, I thought you'd be happy or at least proud of me. It's my first year playing and I…practiced really hard."

"Proud? Happy? Oh James I do not care! Do you hear me? I do not care about you or your stupid games," she said and walked away from the wide-eyed redhead. As she reached the dungeons the sheer meanness of her statement hit her hard and she fell to the floor. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't James's fault that her life would never be whole.

"What happened?" James voice said, making her jump right to her feet.

"James! What the hell,"

"What happened," he said as she grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to him, shaking her.

"I don't want to cry again…"

"Tell me…now," James insisted as he pulled her to the couch and sat them both down.

Suddenly every fear and concern flew out of her worried mouth. She told him of the analyzing sessions and the horrible instances of control loss. She told him of their conclusions and how she could feel their fear and apprehension with her. She told him of her father and the emptiness of the entire world without him by her side. She even told him about her mother. They talked for hours in the damp darkness of the abandoned dungeon common room. It seemed everyone was drowning their sorrows for losing to the Gryffindors elsewhere. James never let go of her as she spoke for hours and hours of her insecurities and fears. She did not like his strong hold of her, it made her uncomfortable, but it kept her in place when she was unstable.

"I told you, didn't I, that you can come talk to me about this stuff?"

"James, that's irrelevant,"

"No it's not," James was serious, "I meant it. Some of that could have been avoided if you had just trusted me, Lola,"

Lola found his valiant attempt to control her amusing at most and at this point in the evening any other emotion besides dread was welcome, "is that so?"

"…you wouldn't have been so stressed and paranoid if you had just come to talk to me about all of this. And don't pretend that's not true because you feel better now, don't you?"

Lola bit her tongue but she knew he was right. She hated when he was right, "I guess it is just hard to open up to people, James. I have never had to because I always had my dad," She felt herself growing sad at the thought of losing her father to this madness.

"You haven't lost him, you know, it's just a bit of a break," He said, turning to the abandoned fireplace. He let her go and went to it, attempting to light it. He did and the flames lit his tired but content face, "I am kind of jealous of you. I could never imagine having such a relationship with my parents. Or my siblings for that matter. I mean I have always had Teddy, um that's Theodore Lupin and he is my god-brother but…it would be nice to have that closeness with somebody."

Lola was shocked; James Potter never spoke of himself, "James,"

"Do not start, Lola, down that track," James said, holding up a finger at her.

Lola was laughing now at the seriousness in his warning, "let's make a deal then, whenever I talk to you, you have to talk to me about your feelings too, eh? How about that?"

James smiled genuinely and Lola felt her stomach flutter at the sight of him, "good, that's all I ever wanted," he said. Lola had never noticed how solidly good he was until then.

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Reviews FUEL me.


	21. Chapter 21: the argument

LONG ABSENCE xD

* * *

"Poor Aachen," Al said as he, Scorpius and Lola ate at the Slytherin table of a Friday evening. He did not understand why they had become so quiet and obsessed with studying when they were weeks away from final examinations but he tried not to get to into their squabbles. He did not want to choose sides, "he is still totally and irrevocably upset over losing the quidditch match,"

Al was met with silence. He chewed on a biscuit, "I mean, even I will admit the Gryffindors are good but not as good as before since Teddy left. I really thought we had a chance this year…what do you two think? Assuming that you do at all,"

Lola rolled her eyes, Scorpius shifted and Al had had it, "alright then, what the bloody hell is going on with you two?"

"Nothing," they both replied unanimously and emotionless.

Al scoffed, "no there is something wrong with you too because I haven't heard one joke or one tsk tsk from either of you in _days, _do you hear me, days!"

Lola spared an awkward glance towards Scorpius who met her eyes with wise ones, " If there was anything wrong, which there is not," Scorpius spoke, Lola had not heard his calm and collective voice in what seemed like eons, "we could solve it ourselves, Albus. Now carry on about that Aachen fellow like you tend to or pick up a book and study because it is none of your business anyway. That's all you have been going on about for weeks now so go ahead and continue,"

Al had never looked more livid at the mention of his full name. Without apparent warning, although Lola saw it coming from the calm in his actions, Al picked up his pudding cup and poured it slimily all over Scorpius pristine blonde-white head. The entire Slytherin table turned, quieted and watched the exchange with either modestly shocked or amused faces. Even some of the other tables watched. James and Aachen watched intensely.

"You really can be just like your father, you selfish git," Al seethed as he haughtily stomped out of the great hall towards the dungeons. Lola knew it would be the beginning of an awfully long night. Scorpius looked about to burst as his breathing unsteadied and an almost forgotten look of absolute rage filled his usually placid if not dull light grey eyes. Unnaturally fast he lifted himself off the table and stomped out after Al as globs of pudding fell of his skinny shoulders and hair. Lola took a swig of her pumpkin juice before calmly walking after them. The eating and gossiping resumed in the great hall.

Lola's boots clinked on the marble floor as she followed Scorpius to the dungeons, Al had disappeared from view.

Scorpius, hearing her, pivoted towards her and stopped in Lola's path, "Do NOT go in there,"

"Excuse me?"

"He is mad at me so stay out of it," he said as he continued towards the dungeon.

Lola scoffed, "maybe if you weren't such a prick all the time to both of us-"

"No," Scorpius interrupted, "I am not dealing with you tonight as well. Now I am concerned for Al, I will deal with your madness later," and with that he was gone and Lola was left infuriated. Still, Al was not going to let her into their battle out of Potter-Weasley decency so instead she would have to find a way into that room without being noticed…

Albus was clearly furious. He was pacing and red faced. Scorpius watched him quietly as he cleaned all the pudding of himself calmly. He had slammed the door closed though.

"…you know I do not like when you tell me I am like my father, Albus, because I am not," Scorpius tried to keep his cool as he spoke.

"Oh of course because your dad is just the most terrible former death eater in the entire world and your life is soooo hard because of it. Get over yourself, Scorpius, your dad was a death eater for less than two years,"

"Oh are we playing this game?" Scorpius was losing his reserve quickly, Lola noted. His eyes showed his anger but his voice was still reticent of emotion.

Al slapped a vase to the floor and turned with vindictive green eyes on full force, "yes, yes we are little Malfoy. You think your life is so hard, a t least you are already seen as something better, something productive! I will _never_ live up to any of those damn expectations. All _you_ have to do is stay good and pretty and the world is your oyster, you fool,"

The vase shattered to a million pieces; as did Scorpius's calm, "you are so selfish! All you ever think is of how hard you have it. People expect me to be evil and detrimental to society, they even want it, Albus, and they want me to fail so they never have to deal with me. I will never get a regular job or do whatever it is I feel keen to do! Nobody would ever hire me and my family will crumble to ever more pieces than it already has. My grandfather is in jail for goodness sakes, Albus; you have no idea what I am going through,"

Al laughed maliciously and his voice filled the air, Lola watched intently from the cell she was eavesdropping from, "it is always about me? No it's about you, Scorpius! Always and forever, god damn it I am so tired of this. Everything, EVERYTHING is and will always be about you because you are the little villain who has to overcome all the obstacles, please, you don't know the meaning of the word,"

Scorpius grabbed his wand slowly and although Al tensed up he did not move. Slowly Scorpius began to magically clean up the broken vase and putting it back together, "you know what I think of you, Albus? I think that you love to complain. You did not get enough attention as a child, being the middle one, and now you are taking it out on me. I mean, you really have no idea how good you have got it."

"Is that what you think then?"

"Yes, it is,"

"Anything else?"

Scorpius was tired of arguing, "…what do you want me to say, Albus?"

"STOP calling me Albus you know it bothers me…it doesn't matter what I want it never does with you,"

Scorpius sighed, "What is that supposed to even mean? You make no sense, you are illogical!"

Al leaned over towards Scorpius and tipped over the newly fixed vase at him, "I am illogical and you are predictably naïve,"

Scorpius's grey eyes widened in shock and pain, "why are you doing this? You already poured pudding all over me, Al, that was really mean,"

"Well, don't be an arse to me,"

Scorpius grabbed Al by his shoulders and forced him to face him, "alright I have been mean to you, Al, but please I can't stand you being mad at me, please, just drop this,"

Al's face was blushing hard, "let go of me, Scorpius,"

"What?"

"Just please let go of me,"

"…why?" Scorpius's grey eyes were filled with worry. Had he lost his best friend…again? Al tried to walk away but Scorpius held him in place and forced him to look at him.

"…Scorpius… let me go,"

"But why? I mean, it's just a stupid fight,"

Al was struggling for the words and Lola knew he was going to do something impulsive soon, "…you asked what I want you to say, right?"

"Yes, what is it? Al you are my best mate…"

Al walked away and sat on the couch, his green eyes looked scared to death, "I talk about Aachen and go on about anything because…because I fancy you, Scorpius…"

Scorpius's face was bright pink and his eyes as wide as the night he saw the house ghost for the first time. Lola watched them quietly and nervously.

"It is strange and I know I have been being a complete and utter git to you and Lola," Al spoke as he fiddled with his thumbs, "but I was just angry and frustrated because I have a crush on my best mate, you know? It's just so bad of me and I hate it. I try to fancy others and I let Aachen take all of my time but…but it doesn't change things."

"...You have not been a complete and utter git, Albus," Scorpius spoke. He made his way to Al's side, modestly, and sat far enough from him that it would not be too awkward, "this is weird but that doesn't stop you from being my best mate, ok? Let's make that clear..."

"I know you do not fancy me… we all know you fancy Lola… but I mean, is there even a chance?"

Scorpius couldn't meet Al's green eyes. They both sat staring at their nervously twitching hands.

"…What do you even like about me? I know it is a strange question but…I have never been told I was fancied by someone before and I never expected it."

Al and Lola watched Scorpius closely. He was sitting there, like Al, nervous and fiddling but the look in his eyes was rather distant and kind of dreamer-like.

"I like everything about you, mate….this is really weird, Scorpius,"

Scorpius smiled to himself, "Can't be weirder than the fact that I expected my life to be completely lonely and was okay with it,"

Al's green eyes looked concerned as he watched his smaller, blonde friend. Lola shifted in the cell she watched them from.

"You and Lola are the best part of my life, Al. I can't believe I have let such petty things get in the way of that."

"Lola…she is going through a lot more than we can understand, Scorpius," Al spoke strangely and wisely, "We have to give her time. Everything is new and strange to her. She is muggle born remember?"

"She doesn't act like the other muggle-borns, have you noticed?" Scorpius asked, " She knows everything and she isn't shocked by magic… at all."

Al scoffed and smiled, "my aunt was like that. My dad and my uncle are always joking about it. She was always the best with magic and was never fazed by it…she was muggle born too. You have these expectations of people, mate, that just are too typical to be true in this world we live in. especially with Lola, haha, that girl is mad."

"…I don't trust your brother,"

"I know, but is that because of Lola or because of James?"

Scorpius sighed softly, "Honestly, I think it is because of both. He has too much too gain with her and she…she is so secretive."

"Don't worry yourself over it, mate," Al said as he stared off at the fireplace, "somebody lit this."

"What?"

"Somebody lit the fireplace,"

Scorpius ventured over to it, "strange, nobody ever does."

Lola wanted to laugh and scoff all at the same time. She continued to watch in silence.

Al breathed deep before speaking, "Scorpius…I am sorry, I didn't really mean what I said."

"It's okay that you fancy me, Al, it is actually kind of flattering," Scorpius mumbled with a red face.

"Okay weird," Al mumbled while rolling his eyes, "but I meant what I said about your dad. I don't think of you like that…at all."

Scorpius crouched by the fire for a while before extending himself up and holding out a hand to Al, "it's okay. I know, mate, but I have to say, you are very eloquent when you argue."

Al laughed, and he seemed relieved now if not still a bit embarrassed, he shook his friend's hand, "thank you, I guess? Maybe it will come in handy in the future when we have to put Lola in her place."

Lola rolled her eyes but smiled. Something inside her softened as she watched them joke and play around again like they used to before the winter break from hell. She knew they would be there for her…no matter what. It was time to speak up. She was going to tell them the truth.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22: Bloom

Lola dawned on her favorite piece of her very few bits of jewelry, her seashell bracelet. It made her feel calm, cool and lucky and she would need it for the day she had planned. Al, James and Aachen were on the field waiting for her. She knew James was going to be an arse to Aachen and boast about the Gryffindor win against Slytherin in quidditch but this would give her time to get Al's full attention. She wanted to talk to him. She finally felt it was time and she was not going to let any feeling of complete fear and anxiousness keep her from a true friendship with him. Then, she told herself, she would deal with the more delicate Scorpius issue.

The day was cold but as everyone fretted on about studying for the looming exams Lola had but one worry. She knew it was time to tell them but she still hadn't figured out exactly how to tell them. I mean, she couldn't just walk in there and be like, 'oh hey, best friend, guess what, I am the descendent of your father's lifelong enemy and the most feared man to ever walk the earth'. She still did not even believe she could tell him about her…connection with him. Lola figured one confession at a time would be best.

The field was left growing a bit and was a nice sight to see as it ruffled in the brisk cold wind. Aachen Bloom leaned against his upturned broomstick as it magically held up his weight and gloom. He was alone.

"Where are the boys?"

"With their father," Aachen said as he absentmindedly pointed toward a bench where James and Al sat staring up at their father, Harry Potter, who seemed to be delivering a speech she could not overhear. An unintentional shudder fluttered down her spine as the ministry presence at the school today seemed threatening to her now. What if he was here for her, for real, this time?

"Yep," Aachen spoke as he examined his nails through his battered quidditch mittens, "he came with Al but has been talking to both of them for fifteen minutes now. And your day?"

"Uh," Lola began as she tried to inch closer to the Potters, "it's been…uneventful,"

"Ah mine too, and now it is terribly boring," Aachen said but Lola hardly heard him. She was on high alert now. The boys had dull but placid expressions on their faces and the tone of Harry Potter's voice was not angry or demanding. He was the only one talking though and the boys were sitting down as he stood in front of them…explaining something. It was another five minutes before both boys noticed her presence, in turn, enlightening their father who turned to look at her. He suddenly made his way towards her and Lola used all her strength and reserve to keep her hand away from her wand and her feet planted on the frozen ground.

His face was unreadable, calm and collected, "good afternoon, Miss Harlow,"

"Good afternoon, Mister Potter,"

"Aachen good to see you again, lad, how is your father doing?" Harry Potter asked as his sons slowly made their way towards them. They were whispering to each other in angry tones.

"Well, sir, the restaurants are doing well in this economy," Aachen said with a placid look on his face. Lola had no idea about what Aachen and Harry Potter were talking about.

Harry Potter smiled, "I am glad, I do love Bloom Taste delectable treats. Reminds me of my days as a boy here,"

"Dad, don't bore my teacher," Al said as he dragged Aachen away and onto the field.

Harry smiled as he watched his youngest son warm up, "is he any good, James?"

"Of course he is. You ready to train, Lola?" James said. Both young Potters were trying to get rid of their father, Lola noted.

"What are you doing here, sir, if you don't mind my asking?" Lola asked with a pleasant smile plastered on her face.

Harry Potter returned the forced gesture, "Business as usual, I thought I would come see my sons too. How are you, Lola?"

The look in his eyes let her know that he had gone to see the Headmaster…and it had been business about her. She kept herself composed, "great, actually, your son is a good teacher."

"Yeah, dad, I have to get back to that now," James cut in.

Harry smiled genuinely as he ruffled his son's red hair and made his way out of the school grounds to apparate back to the ministry. She saw a glimpse at his youthful self there for just a little bit. James did look like him in that sense of youthful wickedness but Al was his exact copy physically although he was clearly much more like his mother emotionally. She finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to James, awaiting an explanation.

"What?" James asked as he fiddled with his broom, avoiding eye contact with her.

"You _will _tell me later," Lola demanded as she got on her broom and flew a little more steady than usual. She could not see Harry Potter anywhere.

James was now flying besides her, "no, I will not because I do not have to…by the way, good form, it seems when distracted you fly much better than when not distracted,"

"Excuse me; yes you do have to, James. Why was he here? And I am not distracted I am alert," Lola said as she suddenly realized how much better she was flying as her heart raced.

"Well at least we both now know that if ever a real emergency took place you could fly well enough,"

"James," Lola said, eyes focused on scaring the answer out of the hardheaded redhead with deadly seriousness, "why was he here?"

James face changed form an annoyed look to an evil and malicious one in seconds, "hello, Aachen, how's your back? "

"…it is fine now," Aachen answered, annoyance seething through his pink and cold lips.

James turned to Lola, "in that fantastic match you missed I happened to aim a bludger directly at Aachen's back knocking him clean off his broom and making him miss what could have been a game-changing goal,"

"James, shut up," Al spit as he flew by, trying to get Aachen's attention back to the training. However, Aachen Bloom's eyes were filled with a scary sort of calm-before-the-storm look that made Lola happy she was already on edge and alert, ready to stop the up-and-coming fight between the two boys.

"Get back to work, mate, we both have plenty to do," James smirked as he tightened his grip on his broom.

"…it was a lucky hit, Potter, and I am not your mate,"

"Boys," Lola cut in, "enough,"

"Lucky? I hit you from a mile away!"

"James, shut up," Lola and Al now said in unison. They knew he wanted a more spiteful reaction from Aachen but did not want to deal with the consequences.

James glared at them both before turning away. Lola and Al fell for it and before they could do anything about it they heard James' cackle.

It was low and evil, "…don't worry about it, Aachen, we can't all be winners,"

Aachen was on him in a second. It took all of Lola and Al's strength to pull them off each other.

"ENOUGH!" Lola screamed, "We are having separate practices from now on and I don't want to hear a word about bets or quidditch rivalries, understood?"

"Oh, Lola, it was just a bit of fun," James smiled.

"It's not fun," Al cut in, "it is exhausting and distracting. We have things to do, James; we are not here for your entertainment."

"oh lay off, you knobby twig," James teased as he tried to fix his robes that the scuffle had flustered, "why don't you and your boyfriend go off somewhere and cater to each other's annoyance?"

Al got that very serious and very scary-calm look on his face. Lola gulped; this was not going at all how she wanted it to.

Al suddenly smiled. It was slow to come but soon was full blown. Then, he was actually laughing. Now Lola, Aachen and James were on alert. Al looked at his brother and with a smirk said, "Alright then, I will,"

Without warning he grabbed hold off Aachen's already ruffled collared and kissed the boy! James and Lola stared in utter shock at Al's actions while Aachen could do nothing but comply and stare wide-eyed at the boy before him. Finally releasing Bloom, Al turned to his brother, one eyebrow raised, daring him to say something, before dragging Aachen to the other side of the field.

Lola, cheeks blazingly red and with a held back grin, turned to James, "you just had to say it, didn't you?"

* * *

The next couple of days were quite odd. Al and Aachen spend a bit good deal of time together although Al tended to look quite bored by the older boy's side. Lola hadn't the chance to speak to him and she knew that without him she could not face Scorpius…at least not yet. She was very tired too. Everything drained her. The looming exams, the stress of everyone around her, and the need to confess to her two best friends was just the tip of the iceberg. She was allowed rest before the next experiment so she could focus a bit on school and relax. This was not helping.

James and Lola talked a bit more now. Not openly, for their housemates' scolding was just too annoying to bear, but they found time and secret places to share. Lola did not tell him of her plan to reveal to Al and Scorpius her true family history however. She figured it was none of his business and if she did tell him, he would do everything in his power to stop her.

Finally the day came when Al grabbed Lola by the arm before she reached the door to their Defense against the Dark Arts class and silently dragged her into an abandoned hallway. She watched him, also quietly, as he checked their surroundings. He had something to confess, she noted.

When he finally returned to her, satisfied that they were sufficiently alone, he looked quite nervous.

"Go on," she said, quite curious to see what it was he needed to say.

"Lola…" he began, but faltered. She could tell that whatever was bothering him was really eating at him.

"Wow, Al Potter without a word to say? This is historic," she said, hoping to make him smile, "whatever it is, mate, have at me. I would never judge you,"

"And I you," he said quickly, "Lola, I like Aachen, but I don't really want everything he wants. I'm like an asset in his scheme to annoy James. It's all very stupid, really."

Lola smiled, "its okay, Al. At least you realize this now before-"

"There's more, much more, Lola,"

"Oh," Lola uttered, a bit confused, "well go on then,"

He looked in her eyes and she could tell he was scared. This made her very, very nervous. Taking her hands in his he sat them both down on the floor they stood on, never looking away from each other's eyes.

"Lola, I know of your family, I know of your grandfather, and I know of the horcrux situation," he said, all at once.

Lola blinked…twice. She thought she would hyperventilate. She thought she might even go into one of her uncontrollable spasms. Yet, Lola Harlow remained very still, her hands limp in her friend's trembling hands. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"…my god brother, Teddy, was talking with my father about this over winter break. I overheard and…he saw me overhearing. He told me to keep it dead quiet, not that I would ever tell anyone anyway, for your sake, Lola. He asked me to keep an eye on you too, and to report to him. I haven't really done much of either. I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier but I was so afraid that you would go ballistic and just never talk to me again."

His confession was quick and to the point, and Lola barely had enough time to digest it all before he started speaking again.

"Lola, I can't believe you didn't think you could trust me with this. I would have never judged you-"He stopped when she held up a finger to his mouth. Slowly, she tried to comprehend what was happening.

"I, I… don't understand," she said, bewildered.

Confused, Al squeezed her hands before asking, "What don't you understand?"

"You never acted any differently…towards me…." She mumbled, too puzzled to be horrified.

He sighed deeply, pulling her into a tight hug, "you are my best mate, Lola, I would never ever judge you for something you have no control over. And I understood why you were afraid to tell me…but still, you should have known better."

There was so much to question but the warmness of his embrace brought the tears out of her. She was crying so much lately, her body was very confused by it. She was never much of a crybaby in her muggle life but this magic one had really brought out the little girl in her.

Between a soft sob she said, "Your father really sucks at keeping secrets,"

Al smiled, "you've no idea,"

"I was going to tell you at practice but then you snogged that blubbering idiot," she hit him, "what were you thinking? That was so stupid."

"Ow," he said, smiling too, tears threatening to escape the corners of his green eyes, "I have no idea, impulse really. Now I'm stuck with him. It could be worse, I suppose,"

"You two aren't…like, dating or anything?" she asked timidly, wiping tears away, trying to compose herself.

"Err, no, not at all. No, Lola, no. ugh no. He is cute, yes, but FULL of himself. Besides I am desperately in love with that blonde buffoon which by the way," he said, eyes a bit shiny, "you have to tell soon,"

"Ugh, I know…I don't know how to even start," she admitted.

"We will figure it out, promise," he said, pulling her and himself up to standing.

"Al, why… how could you look at me the same way?" she asked suddenly, "I mean, aren't you scared?"

"Of you?" he laughed, "not really at all, mate. You are about as scary as a paper plate. I know your situation is serious and I don't know much about it, but just know I am here for you and am not going anywhere."

* * *

"Baby," her father said, "why are you crying?"

Lola was by the beach again. She recognized the familiar dunes, the sun and breezy, soft weather. Dressed in overalls and a shawl, she felt quite comfortable and serene.

"I had a dream, daddy," she confessed, "it was really scary."

Her father, grey eyes full of concern, fell on one knee by her side and put a warm, reassuring arm around her, "want to talk about it?"

She looked at her father for a long time. He looked like her father with those grey eyes they scared and that kind, lopsided, thin lipped smile. He felt like her father with those soft but strong big hands cupping her shoulder.

"Daddy," she said, "you tried to kill me,"

He father did not move or change expressions. He still looked wholesome and concerned, as if she had not spoken yet. He did not even shift or tighten in frustration. He looked….stuck.

Maybe he had not heard her, she figured. Clearing her throat and wiping her tears away she spoke, "I mean, it wasn't really you. But it looked just like you. And you, or, well you said-"

What had he said? She tried to remember but could not fathom a single word out of her quickly fading dream.

"It was only a dream," her father said, voice tender but serious. But his mouth had not moved. Was it her father speaking? Lola turned around to look up into her grandfather's grey eyes. Her mother was standing next to him, dressed in white lace. She was frozen too. Her grandfather towered above her, black robe flowing in the breeze, "one day you will have to wake up, Lola."

Lola sat up in her bed, sweat drenched. She was not out of breath…but her heart was racing. The shock of the first, real dream she had had in a long time awoke her, not so much the dream itself. Lola very rarely dreamt outside of the wizard world dreams she was prone to. It had not even been a nightmare…. Really. She had felt so calm in the presence of her grandfather.

Looking around at her housemates, she made sure they were all fast asleep before climbing out of bed, securing her wand in her nightgown and heading out through the castle. She needed to walk and clear her head.

As she passed the snoozing portraits, quite as a mouse, she thought about a lot of things. She knew she had to find a way to deal with her problem. She wanted to believe she was not a horcrux because even in magic terms it seemed out of place and inconceivable. She wanted to believe that even some magic rules were unchangeable but, if she accepted the possibility, then she could try and think of solutions….not that there were many. She could go to an extreme and try to literally kill the horcrux out of her, like Harry Potter had, but she really did not think that would end as well as she would like it to. She wondered if there was a horcrux expert somewhere in the magical world that could help her out. She wondered about her mother too. Naturally she felt uncomfortable and alienated around her but having her in the dream had been odd, even for Lola. She had not thought about her mother in a long time. In her mind, the most mother like figure to her was Jane. Feeling what she had felt during her times of woe gave her the strongest connection, emotionally, to her grandmother, something she had never experienced with another woman. The only time her mother had not made her feel like a daughter was when they had been in a life or death situation. When Ocean had tried to take her away. Lola still shivered at the thought of that moment.

The night was nippy now and Lola tried to stay away from the wide open windows of the castle. As she turned a corner and caught sight of the library entrance, a sudden thought occurred to her. She had read in Ocean's file that the girl had attended Hogwarts under the Ravenclaw house and had many successes there. The file was very in depth and all, but to ease her mind she decided to go look in the library for some records on the girl. She figured, like most criminals that left the halls of Hogwarts, their records were kept under lock and key in the restricted section.

Looking about carefully, she tried to dismiss the feeling of dread creeping up on her as she entered the library as quietly as possible. To her surprise, she was not the only one there. Silently, she hid behind a desk when she noticed a floating lamp in the room. After a moment she peaked up, only her eyes and nose showing above the desk, and saw Rose Weasley going through a mountain of books in the restricted section, looking quite cross with what she was finding. Lola, recognizing the girl, was about to say something when she heard Rose mumble something in the lines of, "for the love of Merlin's gorgeous, flowing beard…"

Unable to hold back her grunt of laughter, Lola giggled and Rose instinctively sent a knockback jinx her way. Luckily it missed!

"Ah, Rose, it's me," Lola whispered, hoping the girl recognized her voice. As a sign of peace, she showed the girl her wand and walked in front of the desk, her hands up over her head.

Rose seemed satisfied, although embarrassed, and put her wand away, "what are you doing here? It's after hours and I could have seriously hurt you,"

Lola looked the girl up and down, hands on her hips, "what, are you a prefect now and I wasn't informed?"

"What?" Rose questioned.

"It's after hours for you too, you know," Lola mentioned.

Rose shook her head and turned back to the books she was looking through, ignoring Lola. She wanted to ask what exactly Rose was up to but she figured if she did not want to be questioned she should respect the girl before her the same way. Still… her curiosity got the best of her.

"How'd you even get into the restricted section, anyhow?" Lola asked as she scanned the ominous but fascinating books of the restricted section.

"I walked," Rose said sassily and returned to her search.

Lola raised an eyebrow but did not really say anything. Turning to her own search, she found what she was looking for quite quickly. There were other, lesser criminals at first, some she even recognized as petty thieves and crooks mentioned in the daily prophet Al let her read every once in a while. She wondered why all the crooks were in the restricted section. Turning a curious glance towards Rose, she timidly asked, "Why do you think they keep all the criminal files locked away in here? Do you think they are trying to hide something?"

"Don't be daft, Lola, they are kept here so people's personal business does not get put out there to the papers. It's called privacy. Unless a student is doing a specific paper on a criminal there is no reason for anyone to read another person's record, don't you think?" Rose said rather suddenly. Clearly she was annoyed by Lola's presence but Lola accepted her explanation and turned back to the file.

There was nothing useful in the criminal files and Lola could not help but peek over the fray of it to watch what Rose was doing. Rose was not the kind to break rules. She never even bent them. So, what could possibly by the grace of Merlin's gorgeous flowing beard could possess her to break the rules so deeply?

"go to bed, Lola," Rose said in mock sweetness, her eyes never looking up to meet Lola's, "if you are just going to stand there and look stupid you might as well go to bed,"

Lola was pretty sure that whatever Rose was doing was extremely wrong. She would not be so adamant and impatient with her if it wasn't a big deal. She smirked and crossed her arms, "what _are_ you up to, Miss Weasley?"

Rose shut her book tightly and swiftly causing the dust on top of the pages to rise and the room to echo with the smack of the pages. She looked up at Lola with quite a glare on her small face, "Don't you have a mute button? Mind your business, Miss Harlow,"

"Oh come on, it's not like I have anyone to tell, I can help you," Lola begged, dying to know what was so darn important that little miss perfect would risk her record.

"You are not reliable and I would appreciate it-"

"Look," Lola began, a very evil grin on her lips, "I either tell on you and get us detention or you tell me. I've no problem with detentions. So, what's it going to be?"

Ah, being a crafty and audacious Slytherin was fun. Rose looked at her like she was the evilest girl in the world before sighing in defeat. She patted the ground next to her and Lola giddily sat down to read what she was reading. However, she was quite confused to what it was. At first the words were hard to read for they were copies of a letter and the handwriting was terrible but then she could discern it was some sort of plea for secrecy to the ministry of magic.

"It's a Request of Silence from the Bloom family," Rose said softly, reading Lola's confused expression. Rose seemed very un-eased by this letter since she hardly touched it, "it asks to never have mentioned that they were once related to the house of Rosier through blood and marriage."

Lola blinked a few times, still pretty unsure what the big deal was.

"Lola, that boy, Bloom, which Al is always going around with is related to Evan Rosier, a well known death eater!" Rose exclaimed.

Oh. So that was the big deal. Rose seemed more exasperated by Lola's shrugging off of the knowledge like it was nothing than the actual news she had just delivered itself.

"So? They did not want to be associated with one or a few members of their family's dark past. Seems reasonable to me. Besides, didn't your parents and your uncle and aunt all go to school with Bloom's parents or at least his father? Didn't that Bloom fight alongside Harry Potter in the war?" Lola reminded her. Really this was all quite a disappointment seeing as how Lola thought the reveal would be something juicier. Still, she was curious to what a Request for Silence was.

Rose seemed shocked by all that Lola knew about the Blooms, "uh, well, yes that is true. But still, he can't be trusted….right?"

"Rose," Lola said, patting the girl on the shoulder, "you are overprotective. Al and Aachen are just friends. Now…what exactly is a Request for Silence?"

Rose flipped a few pages to show her, "well, it's a very official kind of magic that allows a family or anyone really to keep a secret from the public. Any mention of it put into public hands would end with the ministry having to pay loads of coins in damages to the ones they were supposed to be protecting. It's all very messy and complicated and not many people are granted it in the first place. Mostly spies and former prisoners of war."

Lola's lips pursed in annoyance. Why had she never been told of this? It would have made her and her family's life a lot easier if they had one of those things in place. Sure, it was only damages that would be paid if her secret got out but it would have given her and extra peace of mind.

"why do you have any family secrets I should know about?" Rose asked timidly; joking of course.

Lola smiled, "not any that you would find in here. Now let's get out of here before we caught," she said and helped Rose put the books back in their place before closing the gates to the restricted section and heading out o the library.

"So…now that we know about the Blooms are we going to have to pay damages?" Lola asked, wondering if she would have to take it out of her allowance.

"No, silly, it's only if we make it public and damage their name," Rose said giggling, "or else I would have not really have shown it to you, now would have I?"

* * *

Bloom, Bloom, Bloom...what have you gotten yourself into? So readers, who do you think is right? Has Rose got something important in her hands or is she overreacting like Lola believes she is? In times like these who can you really trust to be true? Al himself being so at ease with Lola's situation sure seems strange. His middle name is Severus and he is in Slytherin house for a reason. And why is the ministry so dodgy about it's options for Lola Harlow?

Something is not right.

Stay tune for the last few chapters! Your replies literally fuel me and inspire me. Your insight to these characters really helps me connect the plots and bring about a great ending to this story. I want to hear your theories! 3


	23. Chapter 23: All Cried Out

So I have had a long break. Sorry Loyal Readers! D: I promised I would finish this story and I really should. I had more intricacies planned but then the evil real world stepped in and honestly I cannot remember them anymore. Fortunately I remember how the story ends so by chapter 25 we should be done ^_^. Reviews are what brought me back so keep them coming, lovies.

* * *

It was the kind of night you'd want to be enchanted in. The sky was cloudless and looked like dark blue velvet. It had just rained but it did not smell of earth…only rain. It was even still drizzling and there was a cool crispness to the air that made you want to stand out there in the drizzle and breathe. It was the kind of night to be enchanted in but Jane was not enchanted at all. If anything, as her stomach grew her hate for Tom Marvolo Riddle grew ever larger and intense. She was a prisoner in his house, an old and filthy manor she would rather burn down to pieces than be mistress of. She was allowed to see or speak to no one and spent her days staring out any window she could get to. They all had bars on them though and the view to the outside was…obscured. She was eight months pregnant and miserable. When once she had given herself the time to wonder what it would be like to have a family and go through a pregnancy she had imagined things differently. She would be married or at least engaged to a man who would care for her until their child had come to the world. She would work until she could not move anymore and sing to her baby every day. She had always loved to sing, it was a pastime that brought her peace and serenity. Now she could not bear to utter a word less a tune. There was no joy or peace or serenity in her world anymore. There was only the impending doom of the horrible world she would bring her child into.

"What are you staring at?" Tom said as he entered the room. He had grown quite bored with her in the last few months and found his marriage to her to have been quite…deficiently thought out. He sighed, thinking of how easily he had let a part of him be seduced by the idea of an equal. He had even let himself dream of the day when his son would grow to be old enough to teach and bring up to be as powerful as he. An heir to an impossible throne, he thought now, wishing he had the will to kill her and that dreaded child in her. But he had put so much effort and was tired of such dullness. All other plans were going smoothly and he figured someone like Bellatrix would take care of the problem for him. That woman always knew what was on his mind and what he needed to be done. He would have to bring up the topic quite carefully with her one time soon.

"At the sky," she answered, hating herself for having a sliver of gratitude for having someone to talk to. She had grown so lonely that not even those house elves creatures would do. Though, they rarely spoke to her and they never had much to talk about besides them fetching things for her. They knew her as a prisoner and had no desire to speak to a filthy muggle like her.

Tom was by her side; she could feel him close to her. He pushed her dark black hair away from her face so he could see her, "there is nothing out there for you," he said coldly, relishing at how easy it came to him to be cruel to her even in the face of her magnificent beauty. He had hardly any soul left in him but he still felt very proud when an inkling of compassion was not felt. It proved to him that he was becoming something better than a mere mortal prone to those dizzying and most pathetic whirls of emotion.

She turned to look at him. He had grown so very ugly, as if her hate tore apart his very soul. But she knew better; he was tearing apart his own soul. Such a crazy thing, magic, she thought to herself, has the potential to be so useful yet is presented to be so terrible in nature. She turned away, only wanting to look at something worth seeing; the sky, "there is nothing for me here,"

Tom smiled at how very insightful she was. He wondered if she knew that she meant nothing to him and was going to die or if she had just given up. There was still some mystery to her that he figured he would never understand. Not that any muggle could ever be of real interest to him but he truly was curious to what nonsense went on in such a futile brain like hers. In his minds muggles, mudbloods and blood traitors were but simple beasts only useful for labor, "surely you are aware by now that I cannot let you go. I am to become the ruler of this world and I cannot have my wife running around causing havoc now can I?"

This was the moment. This was the only chance she would get to free herself and her child from the grips of terror that would befall them. She tried to compose herself as the tears welled up inside her out of hope and despair but she could not. Falling to her knees in front of him, she pleaded, "I beg of you to please let me go. I am of no use to you and I will never ever mention to Sebastian that you are his father. He will never know anything of you. I will lie if he asks, please, I promise you will never hear of me again…please…"

She had never behaved so prideless in his time knowing her. If there was one thing he had valued of her it was her strength but this shriveled up rag in front of him was only drying his patience and reserve. But he was a gracious lord and had grown ever more bored at her presence. He simply walked away from the scene, causing his wife to fall deeper to the ground and weep. Before he left he turned and spoke, "Sebastian…I don't very much like the name,"

He was gone. There was no mercy in him; no humanity. He was a monster in disguise of a human being, Jane thought as she wept, and a very thin disguise it was. He had simply been distracted by what she had given him and now was right back on track to destroying all she ever knew and had cherished. She had to put a stop to him. She had to contact someone who could help. Even if she was a lost cause and with her the child's life she carried she could not allow the world to fall into the hands of her husband. But how would she get a message out and whom to? There was no time but she could not do nothing any longer. She tried to think back to her wedding; a moment she had tried to block in her mind forever but could be of use. There had been Bellatrix that god-awful she-devil Jane had the displeasure of meeting who was in love with Tom so…she would be no help. Even if she spun a lie of leaving the 'dark lord' to a woman who could actually somehow love him the monster would probably kill her first chance she got. She tried hard to remember anything else; anyone who had seemed hesitant or even slightly unhinged… then it hit her. She had been walking away. There had been a man with a knife at his belt. She had allowed herself a small glance at his face and it wore a much practiced expression of nothing…nothing at all. All the others had some sort of emotion but he had been blank. But not any blank look but the look of hiding something! It was a mask she knew too well. She wore it through her wedding and every moment since then till now.

She wiped at her tears and tried to remember more of the man. She could remember the witch talking to him and calling him…Severus…Severus Snape. In her time there she had watched Tom or other dark wizards exchange news through owls. They would write a letter; put a name on it, and it would be delivered, without any address at all. It was as if these birds knew every person or were charmed or something. She could not fathom to understand magic but right now all she needed to know was the man's name. If she was wrong and he was a loyal dog then she would lose nothing at asking for help. She knew she was bound for death anyway and any life she managed to live if she and her son lived would be an empty one.

Running to the desk in her room she found no paper but she did find the stem of a rose she had been given long ago. It was brittle but she had seen the wizards use feathers to write and this would have to do. She ripped apart her sheets and bit at her skin until it bled. She used her blood to write the letter.

_Dear Severus,_

_I do not write this letter for my own safety or for the safety of my child. I know there is no hope for us. What I ask is that you look in yourself and find one thing you truly love in this world. For me it is the chance I had to raise the boy inside of me, Sebastian. Feeling his life force inside of me has been the only thing keeping me alive in my prison. I do not pretend to know you or what you have suffered through life but I implore you to see reason and aid someone out there who has the strength to destroy Tom Riddle. He is not a god but a terribly sick man who will take your humanity and trash it along with his. He will destroy this world and that one thing you love or have ever cared for will die at his hands. _

_I believe in the good of people, Severus, and I saw it in you when I had that chance encounter at my wedding. We wear masks to hide our true selves from the world. But truthfully we just want to shut out the world. It can be a very painful existence never finding were you belong or your purpose. That does not mean it is not out there. We all have a destiny. Please find value in yourself. See reason and save this world and what you love before it is too late. _

_I will admit that my life has been very worthless until now. I ran through it without a second thought of how I was living it. I grew up quickly in America and after joining the army I never looked back or stopped to think of what I was doing. I see now that my purpose was to stop this man, no, this former man from taking the humanity out of all of us. That is why I am writing to you. Your purpose is like mine. My fate is written but yours is not. Please, see to it that you make something worthwhile in what you have left._

_This is my will. I have nothing of value but please find a way to stop him. It is all that I ask._

_I wish you the very best and the greatest of luck,_

_Jane_

She had started getting woozy halfway through the letter due to the loss of blood but she fought through it and finished it. She dried it out and folded it into the smallest of squares. Taking a bit of ripped parchment she wrapped it up and wrote his name on it. She needed something to attract an owl. Looking around she noticed a small mouse in the corner of the room. Like an animal she leapt at it, broke its neck with her hands and hung it out the window. After a few hours one owl showed up. It was brilliantly white and well tempered. She gave it the mouse and the letter. It flew off hurriedly towards the starless blue-velvet night sky.

* * *

Lola awoke, feeling drained, as if it had been her blood used to write the most heartfelt thing she had ever heard. The dream had been very quick but her entire body felt it. Tracks of tears formed as she silently cried for her grandmother remembering a very old dream she had of Severus Snape. He had been wondering what to do, torn by his life choices, when he took out a letter. He read it over and over again and clasped it to his heart. Then he apparated to what had then seemed like a battle ground to Lola but was now clearly the ruins of the hospital where her grandmother had died. She was at his feet and he picked her up and apparated away.

He had been the one to save her father and take her grandmother away from that place. He had been the one to have taken clues from her letter and returned her father to her great-grandparents in America. All because she had been the one to remind him of the love he had for Lily Potter. When she died the letter must have really hit home. He had not helped her grandmother escape the clutches of evil but he did do something for her. His reasons or motives were but a guess to Lola but as she cried she cried for him too.

She knew she would not sleep so she got out of bed and headed for the headmaster's office. She had not slept in days with dreams or memories, whatever they were, plaguing her every unconscious hour. It seemed that the something inside her wanted out and was torturing her until it did. She was going to inform Headmaster Wood that she would not be finishing her year in Hogwarts and would be turning herself in to the ministry to be put under lock, key and dragon. But first, she wanted to see her father again. She was pretty sure they would separate them and if she was going to spend the rest of her life alone and miserable, she wanted to at least tell him the tale of his mother and what she had done for the world.

Although the tears were still streaming down her cheeks she was calm. There was a certain ease in knowing your future because you chose it. She was choosing to sacrifice her life for the good of the world, like her grandmother had, and nothing could feel more right. Yet, as she crossed the hallways she heard a scuffle coming from the infirmary. She rushed over there, recognizing the voices at once.

"Alexander, Sir Hotspur!" she cried as she entered the room to a very mad scene. Many aurors were there that she did not recognize. Some were in beds being tended to but Theodore Lupin, Alexander Sweyn, Harry Potter and Sir Hotspur were all there, looking quite disturbed. Something had happened. When they heard her call their names Hotspur, Sweyn and Headmaster Wood turned to look at her and she ran into Alexander's arms. He was coughing, dirty, out of breath and bleeding, "what happened to you?"

"Lola what are you doing up at this hour?" Headmaster Wood asked absently. The shrill terror of what they had been discussing as well as the many hurt aurors in his school was making him shake.

"Lola, we really need to tend to these people we will explain later, head back to your bed, " Sir Hotspur said as he tried to pull her gently away from Alexander so he could tend to his wounds but both Alexander and Lola would not let go.

"Seeing as how this has to do with her and I still have not gotten the full story," Harry Potter interjected, "I say you all tell us what happened."

Lola spared him a gracious glance before turning back to Alexander who was pushing her away so he could look at her and speak.

"We had them surrounded…" he began…..

There were four of them. Four death eaters holding on to a very dead leader, Alexander Sweyn thought as he tried to keep his anxiousness and excitement and fear under control. The plan was simple. They had already run the bastards down and had them surrounded. They asked them to surrender but naturally they refused. They were in a valley and the aurors had the upper hand. All they had to do was disarm the fugitives and probably knock them unconscious since they were clearly not willingly going to go to Azkaban prison. Alexander felt so competent and happy. Even though he was in a potentially dangerous situation facing four very skilled and crazy wizards he was about to bring justice and ease to a very scared little girl and her father. He could not have asked for a more noble position. He spared a glance towards Maximilian Hotspur who looked as nervous as he felt. He put a reassuring hand on his lover's shoulder and smiled, "are you ready,"

Max stared at him for a long time before pulling him close and kissing him softly. Alexander hesitated, since they were in full view of the other aurors but soon gave in to the sweet gesture. For all they knew this might be the last time they would get the chance to tell each other how much they cared. But instead they kissed silently and did not utter a word.

Hotspur was the lead auror here and after caressing Alexander's face for a moment he gave the order to attack. They rushed out with disarming and shielding spells but the death eaters were back-to-back awaiting them. They had not stirred for a moment in the hour they had been trapped and were attacking the aurors like crazy. Spells flew past Alexander's head and he had to roll and jump over a couple but he ran full force towards the enemy. He and the other aurors were coming down too quick for the death eaters and in their desperation they were getting careless with their formation. One of the four, a man with puffy light hair stood out to Alexander and he hexed him so hard the man flew backwards and not only broke the formation but apparated into nothingness, abandoning the other three death eaters. There was no loyalty among monsters.

Ocean and her two other dogs were left exposed. Ocean took to the skies in her broom as soon as the other two were disarmed and defeated. Sir Hotspur pointed his wand and hit her broom on fire so quickly that the other aurors did not even have the time to watch him do it besides Alexander. They were still trying to apprehend the other two fugitives that were physically fighting them. Ocean fell to the ground with a loud thud and Alexander froze. He froze.

Hotspur ran towards her, ready to take her out but a bright green and very powerful spell hit him dead in the chest and he fell backwards, motionless. Alexander's eyes widened, thinking his lover to be dead, and he did something unthinkable, "CRUCIO!" he screamed with all his might as hot tears began to pour out of his eyes. He was gone. The one man he had ever truly loved was dead because he had frozen. Ocean twisted in agony, her body writhing as she dropped the wand that had taken the life of his love. She did not scream but her face contorted in pure agony.

"CRUCIO…" he said deeper and with more hate that he had ever felt in his entire life. The spell doubled in intensity so much that now Ocean was screaming at the top of her lungs. She finally stopped screaming and because she stopped breathing. Alexander would have kept at it until she died of pain but he saw something stirring from the corner of his eye. It was Hotspur. His heart filled with so much joy that his spell weakened but Ocean lay motionless nonetheless. Brazenly he stopped his spell and ran to his lover's side, "I thought you were dead," he said, wrapping his arms around Hotspur and holding on so tightly that Hotspur had to pull him off just to breathe.

When he caught his breath he said, "Where is she?"

When they both turned to look she was gone…

Lola stared at Alexander, who looked more ashamed and defeated than she could have ever imagined anyone to be. She lovingly stroked his hair away from his face, "you did what you had to,"

"No, Lola," Alexander said stubbornly, "she got away because of me. Because I was careless."

Harry Potter cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention, "and the other death eaters, were they captured?"

"Two were, sir," Theodore Lupin said, "they are being questioned this very minute."

"Why did you all apparate here?" Lola asked.

"Because I asked them to," Harry Potter answered. His expression was unreadable. As he paced the grounds everyone looked to him, awaiting his evaluation on the situation. Finally he spoke, "I have reason to believe that the ministry has been infiltrated by death eaters once again. First, the event with Lola's father then the leaking of information…it is not safe there. I have already had your father evacuated from where he had been staying and put in a safe place-"

"Where?" Lola asked. Nowhere was safe if Ocean was out there. And if the ministry was infiltrated then who did he trust with her father?

"In my house," he said softly. Lola gasped, feeling suddenly very foolish and rude for ever doubting him.

"…what happens now?" Sir Hotspur asked.

"Now you tell me your findings," Harry Potter said, "Lola, Headmaster, come with me, tend to your wounds Alexander…you too, Max."

Headmaster Wood took her hand and began to follow Harry Potter towards his office. Lola only had time to spare a glance towards Alexander, who had collapsed into a fit of tears on Sir Hotspur's arms that lovingly wrapped around his young love and tried to sooth him although his face was white with fear.

Headmaster Wood spoke carefully and tried to help Lola as best he could, picking the right words to explain their findings but Lola awaited nothing less than an immediate transference to somewhere they could keep her safer and out of the public. Harry Potter listened very carefully and did not say a word about his decision. He only asked questions and looked to Lola every once in a while.

She realized there was a lot of Harry Potter that she had not understood. Although his life had played over and over in her mind the man he had become had brought about many new ways out of him. As she watched him listening she could finally see the qualities Al and James did have in common with him. She wanted to tell him how lucky he was to have two very amazing sons but it seemed out of place.

"I see," Harry Potter said as he turned away from Headmaster Wood and put the full force of his commanding green eyes on Lola, "…my son Albus speaks very kindly of you," he said, walking up to her and kneeled right in front of her, "and my other son writes very fondly of you in his journal. I know it is wrong of me to read his private thoughts but I always had a problem with curiosity…and manners. Much like you. It seems you have made a name for yourself in this school and in their lives, among other students as well, I presume. If you were to suddenly disappear in the night I'm sure an uproar, although small, will rise and the students will tell their parents and we cannot have your name in people's mouths, can we?"

"…what are you saying?" Lola asked timidly.

"You are staying here until the year is over. Then we will inform those who need to know that you are transferring to another school or that your father has given it some thought and this magic school thing displeases him and he has taken you out of it, whatever lie works best. You will slowly lose touch with those who inquire about you and eventually, hopefully, fade from their memory," Harry Potter said, not looking at her anymore. He was up on his feet, his hands clasped together behind his back, looking out a window that revealed a very calm and still night sky.

Lola lowered her gaze knowing that to fight would be useless. Her fate was sealed. She had come to that realization even before finding out about the mess that had happened tonight. Yet still, something bothered her, "I can always say my father pulled me out now…why are you letting me stay?"

Harry Potter swallowed hard, "because I honestly don't know where to put you. Hogwarts is the safest place I can think right now. I can't trust the ministry and the few people I can trust cannot be asked to keep you or your father. It would put them in danger. I need to figure out what to do with you two…and to find the mole in my department," he turned to Lola, his face looking quite unhappy, "you can say goodbye…too."

If Lola had not been crying all night she probably would be balling now. To think that the entire year spent building friendships was coming to a screeching and unyielding stop was too much for her right now. Instead, she bowed her head at his courtesy with her and asked if she could see her father.

"Wherever you go you will be together," Harry Potter added, "so you will see him soon."

She nodded and excused herself. Walking through the halls no longer felt scary or engulfing. It felt like walking through a dream that she would soon have to wake up from. She reached her bed and sat wide eyed until morning. As she got ready for class, eyes looking bruised and puffy, she decided not to tell Scorpius of her family history. It was best that he remained oblivious so when the time came that she would have to go he would just accept it. Al and James would be another story. She knew them well. They would pester their father for the truth and when he gave it to them they would beg and plead trying t find a solution. She knew that eventually they would give up since there was not one. Even if Ocean was caught whatever was inside her would continue to pester until it had what it wanted. She would never be able to live a normal life. She knew this yet still it hurt so badly to know she would have to leave. She would not tell them anything until she was far from them. Maybe she would send a letter and then break contact. She could not muster the courage to tell them in person.

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A sad chapter but an important one. It's sort of expected at this point though, isn't it? FEED ME REVIEWS? I will love you lots if you do 3


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